Meet Paolo Parravano: Pizzaiolo, Baker, and Technical Director of Polselli

Every bag of Polselli flour has a mill behind it. And behind the mill are the people who test, knead, ferment, and bake until a flour behaves exactly the way a pizzaiolo needs it to. One of those people is Paolo Parravano, pizzaiolo, baker, teacher, and Technical Director of Polselli.

From apprentice to master pizzaiolo

Paolo was born in 1972 in Sora, in the province of Frosinone, in the heart of Ciociaria, the same area of central Italy where Polselli has milled flour for generations. He studied at the hotel institute in Fiuggi and, starting at 16, spent his summers apprenticing in pizzerias and bakeries. He moved up step by step, first as an assistant pizza maker and then as head pizzaiolo at the counter.

Three pizzerias, one obsession: digestible dough

• 2004, Al Muretto (Broccostella): his first pizzeria, dedicated to pizza in pala, the long, airy Roman-style pizza baked on a wooden peel.
• 2010, Al Solito Posto (Sora): a shop built around process innovation and highly digestible dough.
• 2014, Al Vecchio Asilo: a sit-down pizzeria serving pizza by the plate.

Along the way he also refined pizza al padellino, the soft, crisp-bottomed pan pizza, into a gourmet option.

Teaching the next generation

Paolo has always shared what he knows. He created his own courses under the name Academy Pizza & Bakery, and from 2016 to 2018 trained new professional pizza makers through the Università del Gusto school. In 2019 the school moved to Frosinone and became the Academy Polselli Pizza & Bakery.

His role at Polselli

Paolo joined Molino Polselli in 2019 and today is the mill's Technical Director. He works on the research and development of flour blends, helping the mill offer professionals a wide range of flours for building their own custom doughs. When you open a bag of Polselli, you are working with flour that has been tested by people who make pizza and bread every day.

Bake like Paolo: the Polselli flours to try

• Pizza in pala and pinsa: Polselli La Romana Type 0 Flour (5 kg) or the La Romana Pinsa & Pizza Flour Mix (10 kg).
• Classic Neapolitan pizza: Polselli Classica Tipo 00 (W 270).
• Long fermentation: Polselli Vivace Tipo 00 (W 290).
• Bread and sourdough: Polselli Organic Type 1 Bread Flour or Polselli Super Tipo 00 (W 360).
• On the bench: Polselli Voila' Spolvero dusting flour.

Looking for a recipe to start with? Try our Sourdough Neapolitan Pizza with Polselli Organic Tipo 00 Flour.

Follow Paolo on Instagram at @paoloparravano to see his pizzas, breads, and classes.