Spending an early morning in Gemelli bakery with Tony Sapia is a meditative experience. The sun streams into the white tiled front room with the massive Polin hearth oven with bright, first light intensity. It is serenely quiet, without the radio chatter of morning news or background music. Tony’s actions are mindful, as he separates the loaves from themselves on the proofing rack, gently tucking and setting them individually on the conveyor belt to roll into the oven. One eyebrow goes up as he concentrates on scoring the loaves quickly, to control the oven spring so the loaves don’t burst out their sides. He answers questions without ever taking his eyes or hands off the bread, “These are pumpkin seed-sesame loaves. They’ll bake for about 30 minutes at 460°F.”
Tony Sapia and his wife Karen realized a dream recently and opened a retail bakery to sell the Gemelli breads that Tony has been making since 2001. The name Gemelli means “twins” and that is the year that their two sons, Giacomo and Fiorenzo were born. Shoppers at local specialty stores like the Cheese Shoppe, Tait Farm, the Granary, Nature’s Pantry and Agostinelli’s Deli have been enjoying his twice-weekly deliveries of artisan loaves for years, and both Kelly’s Steak House and the American Ale House are wholesale clients. Now the general public can go to the source and experience the charm of a bakery that uses old world methods to create edible works of art.
Proofing racks with zippered plastic jackets line the rear of the room, and bowls of dark dough rest there, quietly growing into the 100% whole wheat boules they are destined to be. The mixing room in the back is where the dough comes to life. Bags of King Arthur organic flour line the perimeter. Sacks of sea salt, a bucket of slowly ripening rye starter with a sour tang, Fleischmann’s instant yeast—the room is spare. One corner is dominated by a huge spiral mixer as big as a hot tub. The water for the bread is plumbed directly into a hose that gives a temperature reading from the wall. A stainless steel table in the center is the altar and dissecting table for batch after batch of risen dough that Tony pull-pours from a plastic proofing tub onto the lightly floured surface. His hands are big and the dough is resilient beneath them. Using a bench scraper and digital scale, he deftly cuts the dough into 30 or so 14 ounce pieces and then coaxes each into a nascent baguette, barely shaped. Once they are all divided into stubby torpedoes, he starts with the first one and deftly elongates it into the classic baguette shape, nestling it into the fold of a canvas cloth to proof again.
“Allowing the dough to rest lets the gluten relax and stretch out. The final shaping is easier,” explains the natural teacher.
A small but insistent beep-beep-beep comes from the other room and Tony hurries to the front. The pumpkin seed-sesame loaves are done and the room is fragrant with the best aroma there is. The conveyor belt that rolled them in is now jockeyed to arrange for their hasty retrieval and Tony uses heavy, elbow high gloves to remove the hot loaves and place them on a nearby rack to cool.
The whole wheat boules have nearly doubled in size in that short time, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the oven. The air is charged with the bliss of the yeast, happily multiplying and expanding in the matrix that traps them. There’s a lot going on—600 loaves of bread are made on wholesale baking mornings, between 6 and 11 am—but it is so quiet and subtle and under control that it all seems as natural as breathing. Tony is unhurried, tossing loaves, two at a time, onto the quickly filling racks. It’s a labor of love, more proof of that old adage “Work is love made visible.”
In addition to artisan
breads, Gemelli’s also sells cookies and biscotti,
free form fruit tarts and gives away home made donuts on Penn State home
football Saturdays. Be very aware that
he will start baking his holiday cookies and specialty ethnic breads—panettone, babka, and stollen—around Thanksgiving time and will only carry them
through the holidays. These are not to
be missed and make excellent gifts, if you can bear to part with them.
Tony Sapia’s Cornbread
One and one third cups all purpose flour
Two thirds cup cornmeal
One third cup sugar
One half cup corn flour
One half teaspoon salt
Four and one half teaspoons baking powder
3 ounces butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
Combine all the dry ingredients and break up any lumps. In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients and add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Blend just until mixed and large lumps are dissolved. DO NOT OVERBEAT! Pour the mixture into a greased 8 inch by 8 inch pan and bake at 350°F until golden brown and delicious. SERVE IMMEDIATELY or cool to make cornbread dressing.
Cornbread Dressing
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
Seasonings: 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, one half teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 cup chicken stock
5 cups cornbread, broken into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
Melt the butter and sauté the onion, celery, garlic and bay leaves until the onion is translucent. Add the seasonings and cook for an additional 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the stock. Turn off the heat. Add the cornbread, cream and eggs, stirring well. Spoon the dressing into a 13 inch by 9 inch baking pan and bake at 375°F until browned on top, about 35-45 minutes.