OK, I think we are all on the same page: A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish. And a pizza without sauce, is just toast.
Pizza is judged by most people by two main items: the crust and then the sauce. The sauce can literally make or break your pizza in the mouths and minds of your customers. Have you gone to a friend’s home and they make pizza and the sauce is something between a mariana or water? It can break your heart. Or ruin a friendship.
There are some people who forget the difference between pizza sauces and pasta sauces like mariana. So what is the difference? Pizza sauce is traditionally not cooked. 
Pizza sauce is considered a “raw” sauce – meaning it is not cooked before usage. It can be made with fresh tomatoes, but using canned tomatoes is the most popular option.
Every pizza maker has their own favorite tomato to use for sauce. One of the canned tomatoes that are considered high quality are DiNapoli. Local distributors can be found in your area – or you can call Fire Within and we can help you find some.
The pizza traditionalists will say you only need a puree of three ingredients: Tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. To this simple puree you can add different kinds of vinegar, red chili flakes, any herb in the world, etc. to your personal taste.
At Fire Within’s Wood Fired University, we explore the mystery of pizza sauce and our instructor talks about the ingredients that he likes to use.
None of this is to dictate the kind of sauce to use. Go ahead and use spaghetti sauce if that’s what you want. You know the type of sauce that your signature taste requires! There are many sauces besides “traditional” sauces to explore: Pesto, Alfredo, Buffalo, BBQ, White Garlic, Salsa, Hummus (yes hummus!), Thai Chili, Thai Peanut, Soy Miso, Hoisin… the possibilities are endless.
