Touch of Italy expanding bakery capacity

Anyone who has been in Touch of Italy’s stores in Rehoboth Beach or Lewes knows the kind of delicacies that await. The stores are places that test the will of even the most disciplined dieter.

The only thing to compete with an incredible selection of the freshest meats, cheeses and salads are the equally delectable baked goods made in-house.

Increasing production

Because of the ever-growing popularity of Touch of Italy breads, cookies, tiramisu, éclairs, cream puffs, lobster tails and similar items, they’re opening a bakery in the Villages of Five Points.

“This past summer we realized we were running out of space here to be able to bake all the products for this store and our Rehoboth store. So we started to explore moving the bakery off-site,” said Bob Ciprietti, store co-owner.

The Lewes store’s 150-square-foot bakery was too small for the bakers and equipment required to produce what customers want, Ciprietti said. He said during summer, one local restaurant alone needs 3,000 loaves of bread a week.

“We’re expanding to make the equivalent of 5,000 to 6,000 loaves of bread a day,” he said.

Based on customer requests, Five Points is perfectly located to meet community and restaurant demand for bread, cookies and pastries, Ciprietti said.

He said the new 3,000-square-foot space already had the basics and will be easy to manage because it’s close to the Lewes store.

The store will sell retail to the public and wholesale to area restaurants.

Cooking up more items

Ciprietti said because there’s more space, the bakery’s product selection would also expand. “We’ll make different types of bread that haven’t been made anywhere around here,” he said.

Ciprietti said until Touch of Italy opened Rehoboth two years ago, real Italian bread wasn’t available in this area. He said Italian bread now sold in Touch of Italy stores is baked in New York and northern New Jersey and brought in daily.

To bake good, traditional Italian breads, bakers have to know the dough’s feel. And to ensure his bakers know the feel, they spent last November in The Bronx, working with experienced bakers Ciprietti grew up with.

“You can’t read about it in a book. It’s all about feeling and touching the dough. The only way to do it is by just doing it,” he said.

This spring, as part of continuing education for bakers, a baker will come from Sicily to impart knowledge.

“He will further influence the product line and, in effect, bring some of the old world secrets of the trade to us and help manifest the education and knowledge process for our staff,” Ciprietti said.

When local production starts, he said, bread varieties would expand to include olive, rosemary, semolina, prosciutto and other traditional Italian breads.

Importing ovens

Ciprietti and his business partners, brothers Lou and Frank Bascio and Joe Corzi, have spared no expense to produce authentic Italian breads. They’re installing Moretti Forni brand ovens, manufactured in Italy. Not only do the ovens come from Italy; so does the installer.

“They are an Old Word type deck-oven. They have steam controls built in them. A lot of ovens today are made of ceramic or synthetic materials and they try to produce heat through different types of burners.

A true, Italian oven is like baking on a hearth. It enables the bread to bake properly, like a traditional artisan bread should be baked,” Ciprietti said.

The new bakery might open in early spring. But, consistent with everything Touch of Italy does, products must be perfect before they’ll be sold.

“We’re hoping to flip the switch in early March. But if it’s not right, and we won’t eat it, we won’t open until its right,” Ciprietti said.

For additional information about Touch of Italy, visit the stores at 101 Second St. in Lewes and 33A Baltimore Ave. in Rehoboth Beach.

Call the Lewes store at 302-827-2730, or Rehoboth store at 302-227-1500. Also, go to www.touchofitaly.com.

Touch of Italy, short version

Starting around midnight, about a half-dozen people begin baking Touch of Italy products. John ‘The Baker’ Hisset is lead bread baker and Andrew Hooven is in charge of producing pastries, cookies and desserts. Four to five assistant bakers also help with production.

• Touch of Italy Lewes and Rehoboth Beach stores sell an estimated total of 800 to 900 pounds of cookies a week.

• Cookie and dessert items include macaroons; cream puffs; almond, lemon drop, chocolate-dipped butter and pignoli cookies; biscotti, tiramisu and linzer torte.

• Products produced at the new Villages of Five Points bakery will be distributed to restaurants throughout the Delmarva Peninsula.