Ghostly Grilled Pizza
Ghostly grilled pizzas are a must-have menu item for your upcoming Halloween get-together. Some of the best pizzas are simple, and these are proof. The crust is crisp with great chew, the sauce is flavorful, it’s fresh, and each pizza has just enough cheese to satisfy. Moreover, “spiders” made of olives are placed on top for an extra spooky touch.
Equipment
- Z Grills 700D4E Wood Pellet Grill
- Z Grills Apple Wood Pellets
- Baking Sheet
- Ghost-Shaped Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 ounces water, warm
- 8 ounces bread flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more
Sauce
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pizza
- Cornmeal
- ¼ cup pitted black olives
- 12 slices of provolone cheese
Instructions
Dough
- Combine the sugar and yeast in a large bowl.
- Add half the water and whisk until the sugar and yeast dissolves.
- Leave to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Once foamy, add the remaining water to the bowl with the sugar and yeast, then whisk in the oil.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until you have a scraggly dough.
- Lightly oil your hands and knead the dough a few times.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic, and leave it to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
Sauce
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the saucepan, then add the sugar, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside.
Pizza
- Preheat your Z-Grills (preferably with branded applewood pellets) or other wood pellet grill to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Generously oil a large baking sheet, then lightly sprinkle it with cornmeal.
- Punch down the pizza dough, divide it into two even portions and transfer them to the baking sheet.
- Oil your hands and press each portion of dough into a 6-inch circle.
- Divide the sauce between the two pizzas and use the ghost-shaped cookie cutter to cut the cheese into ghosts. Divide them between the two pizzas.
- Make little olive spiders on each pizza by placing halved olives cut side down for the spiders’ bodies. Slice a few more olives and arrange them to make spider legs. Use any leftover bits to add eyes and/or a mouth to each ghost.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the grill grates, cover the grill, and cook the pizzas for 15 minutes or until the crust is crispy and the cheese melts.
- Remove the pizza from the grill, slice, and serve.
Notes
This recipe yields two 6-inch pizzas or one 12-inch pizza.