Best pizza sauce ingredient?

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I'd very much like to hear what people think makes the very best pizza sauce: crushed tomatoes. tomato paste, tomato sauce etc etc. ?
Thank you
 
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Not tomato paste. In the realm of canned tomatoes, the quality of the tomatoes used is more important than the texture of the product. Whether they're whole, crushed or finely ground is less important. I like a smooth sauce for pizza so I process the sauce regardless of the original shape of the tomatoes in the can.

Now if you want to use fresh tomatoes...
 
Plain unseasoned smooth tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garlic (fresh if available), salt, ground pepper, red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil.
 
I use my homemade marinara. I already have it ready in freezer (small containers). So its my go to for pizza, pasta and other dishes that call for tomato sauce.
 
This is the basic sauce recipe that I use. I spread the thick sauce on the dough in a thin layer using the back of a serving spoon and then top the pizza with the remaining ingredients.

Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.

Good luck!
 
The best pizza sauce I've mad thus far was with sun dried Italian plum tomatoes which I re-constituted by soaking in hot water. Unfortunately. I can't get them any more because I from them in an Italian specialty store that no longer exists.
 
Not all pizzas use tomato sauce. A classic Margherita doesn't use any. A lot of our homemade pies don't call for it, like our crawfish pizza or fig and prosciutto pizza.

For tomato based pizza sauce, I use crushed canned plum tomatoes, olive oil, minced garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, oregano and sugar. I like it to be spicy, but on the sweet side. If the tomatoes are sweet enough, I leave the sugar out.
 
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The best pizza sauce I've mad thus far was with sun dried Italian plum tomatoes which I re-constituted by soaking in hot water. Unfortunately. I can't get them any more because I from them in an Italian specialty store that no longer exists.


We grow san marzano tomatoes (and romas), in our own soil, so therefore not official san marzanos. These can be dehydrated and stored in the freezer. To rehydrate, fill a blender half full of water, drop in the tomato slices blend, and let it sit.
 
I use either crushed tomatoes, or tomato puree, as tomato sauce is pre-seasoned by the manufacturer. I like the constancy or the crushed and puree as well. For herbs and spices, I add freshly 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. granulated onion powder, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/4 tsp dried basil, 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne pepper), or red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for ten minutes to allow the flavors to blend. This sauce is best made the day before, and then refrigerated overnight. But it's good freshly made as well.

After spreading the sauce onto the crust, I like to place dried tomato as one of the veggies, along with sliced onion, chopped green and red bell pepper, and several other toppings, with a mild, stringy cheese such as fresh mozzarella, or muenster. Top with your favorite toppings. To take your pizza right over the top, fold the pie in half to trap the fillings inside. Pinch the crust edges. Where I live, we call this a pizza pastie. Brush the top will egg wash and bake until the crust is golden brown and cooked through.

Another incredible way to cook your pizza is in a large cast iron pan that has had a couple tbs. of olive oil added before the dough is put in, then placed over hot charcoal (I use my Webber Kettle for this), and cooked with the lid on for ten minutes. It get that little bit of smoky flavor from the fire.

And yes, you don't have to use a red sauce, but that's my favorite.

Depending on your taste preferences, other herbs that go great in pizza sauce are fennel seed, rosemary, ghost pepper powder, black pepper, and summer savory. And of course, the sauce must compliment the toppings. You might not want to add fennel if you are going to put pineapple on your pie. You might include sage if you are putting chicken on your pie. In any case, the basic sauce I described at the start is a good one, and you can certainly alter it to your taste by adding more oar sell of any of the ingredients.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I use plain (unseasoned)tomato sauce and then sprinkle it with:

Ground fennel seed

and then depending on the sort of pizza:
Dried oregano, garlic powder, dried basil, dried parsley

then cheese and toppings.

The fennel is never optional and the reason for the dried herbs is that they are more concentrated in flavor and don't make the the sauce soupy.
 
So much fantastic input. Thank you all.
One thing I know for sure, I'll never use tomato sauce again, waaaaay to bitter.
Even adding a touch of sugar does not help.
I read somewhere that the bitterness of tomato sauce comes from the mfg using unripe tomatoes.
 
I made some nice pizza sauce from a bag of last year's frozen cherry tomatoes. Ground fennel seed is manditory here too, along with other dried herbs.
 
I use tomato passata or pesto on my pizzas because that what pizza baker taught me to use.
 
I use a marinara sauce for my pizzas. That way I only have to buy one kind of sauce for my Italian based recipes.
 
Tomato sauce, basil, and fennel. I use so little tomato sauce (4 oz. on a half sheet thin crust pizza) that it wouldn't make much sense to try to make a pizza sauce.

When Mrs. T and I were in Italy we took a liking to their minimalist pizza for lunch, so now we have it for lunch on a regular basis. I don't use much cheese (maybe 6 or 7 oz.), and like to toss in a handful of toasted pine nuts before adding the cheese. My basil plants are producing quite a bit, so I throw in a lot of extra basil while it's available.
 
There's a place near me that uses a little dried oregano in their sauce, but then sprinkles dried savory on the pie as it is being made. It's a subtle difference, but it's what sets their pizza just a little above all of the other very good pizza joints in the area.
 
For tomato based pizza sauce, I use crushed canned plum tomatoes, olive oil, minced garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, oregano and sugar. I like it to be spicy, but on the sweet side. If the tomatoes are sweet enough, I leave the sugar out.

Sounds like my marinara. (Nina whole or crushed*) I do not add oregano or pepper flakes to this mother sauce. I also use some tomato paste as a thickener.
I adapt this sauce to the dish. For pizza I do nothing more to the marinara sauce.

I use a marinara sauce for my pizzas. That way I only have to buy one kind of sauce for my Italian based recipes.

Same here. I make a gallon or so. Put it in small containers and have them at the ready for any quick dish.
I can get chicken parm on the table in 30 -40 minutes. Frozen breaded chicken fried crispy, marinara sauce and mozzarella.
Naan pizza in half that time and pasta with red sauce even faster.
Its a giant help having this ready in the freezer.

* Costco in our area stopped selling the whole gallon and now only sell the three smaller can combo. They are whole plum.
 
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