Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 6 84 JERSEY SHORE FOODIE MAKING THE BREAD, continued from page 83 As one of the world's oldest prepared foods, dating back per- haps 30,000 years, bread is equal parts magic and science. "Baking isn't just a recipe," says Joe Leone Introna, owner of Joe Leone's Italian Specialties in Point Pleasant Beach and Sea Girt. "A carrot is still a car- rot and meat is still meat when you cook it. With baking, you're taking a bowl of flour, water, and yeast and transforming it into something else." And that "something else," at its best, can delight the senses with fla- vors and textures ranging from airy and tangy to dense and sweet. It can be a buttery yellow braided semolina with a robust nuttiness; an earthy, grainy, and sweet fig and pistachio ciabatta; or even a seasonal loaf high- lighting the tart joy of the cranberry harvest. Introna knows all this intimately. Though he and his partner, John Hilla, have built a highly success- ful business of one hundred fifty employees, with two thriving Italian markets and a catering business chock full of delectable dishes, the title Introna still wears most comfort- ably and proudly is "baker." "It was my first trade," he says. "I'm a baker first." Indeed, yesterday Introna received some sad personal news, which drove him into the bakery, alone, after hours. "I'll tend to go to dough," he comments. "Rolling dough is very calming…bread brings me home." He's not alone. Mary Francis Kennedy Fisher in The Art of Eating writes, "[Bread making is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient cer- emony… [Nothing] will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread." The tactile experience of molding dough is obviously just part of it. "You can lose yourself in the busi- ness," comments Introna. "So I go back to something I'm confident in and know I'm good at. Baking bread is my true happy place when it comes to my career." That confidence Introna mentions was hard won and started at just age seventeen, when Introna began work- ing on weekends at Giovanni's, a for- mer Italian market in Little Silver. He "cut teeth" so to speak, making "very good, high quality" white Italian bread and semolina in a brick oven. For him, the experience of bread making was an instant connection. "When I'm into something, I'm real- ly into it…I just fell in love with the science of bread. I did a lot of reading and research on artisan breads." In the ensuing years, Introna grad- uated from culinary school, worked as a prep cook at Jon Anthony's in Brielle and spent his days off "vol- unteering" at bakeries like Valenti's in Fairview, Maria's in Hoboken, and many others which he rattles off with a clarity of memory surprising for the many years gone by. Learning all about "leavenings, starters, sours, and feeds," Introna began expanding his knowledge from Italian favorites Loaves and rolls from Joe Leone's (clockwise from top): an 8oz. Seeded Italian Roll, Epee, Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Pizza Bread, Cranberry Pecan Loaf, and a Walnut Raisin Loaf.

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