First master pizza making school in Croatia opens

Croatia has launched its first professional pizza-making school, led by world champion pizza masters.

Located in Volme, Istria, the school features world champions as its instructors, specialising in the preparation of the world’s most popular dish.

Just five ingredients are enough for happiness: flour, water, yeast, oil, and salt—these are the basic elements of pizza. But behind a truly exceptional Italian pizza, there’s much more.

“The quality of the flour is crucial. We often think that it’s enough to use ’00’ flour for everything, but in reality, we need to be very mindful of the protein content. It’s similar to buying a car—you pay attention to the engine’s power,” Graziano Bertuzzo, a pizza master, told HRT.

Graziano has been in this business for over half a century, having made millions of pizzas. Along with other pizza masters, he is part of the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli team, the first of its kind in Croatia and the 31st in the world.

“The Croatian market is filled with Italian pizza masters who come here for the season. Our school aims to train Croatian pizzaiolos, passing on the best of Italian pizza in all its styles,” emphasised Enrico Bonardo, the school’s commercial director and marketing manager.

(Photo: Private album)

They point out that pizza isn’t just about the classic Neapolitan style. It can be divided into two main categories: round and tray-baked, with numerous subtypes in each. All of this is taught at the school.

“They’ll specialise in various pizza styles. As you can see behind me, we have a range of ovens, each with different temperatures, which significantly impact the styles of pizza,” noted Tiziano Defilippis, the school’s technical director.

Gluten-free pizzas are becoming increasingly popular. Domenico has just become the world champion in this category.

“It needs to be mixed less in the mixer—only for a few minutes—then finished by hand. Since gluten-free flour contains a lot of starch and sugar, we must prevent it from losing moisture. The more it’s kneaded, the stickier it becomes,” explains Domenico Fasallo, the world champion in gluten-free pizza.

Even cooking in an electric oven makes a difference. The world’s most popular dish holds many secrets, which, starting now, anyone in Croatia can learn.