Break bread from Pittsburgh’s Pane e Pronto bakery this Thanksgiving
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Baking bread from scratch takes flour, yeast and the most important ingredient … time.
“It’s a process,” said Nick Malburg, head baker at Pane e Pronto, an Italian takeout, bread and catering kitchen in the Strip District. “You can’t rush it, because if you do, people will notice.”
Malburg has been in charge of the bread at Pane e Pronto since it opened Oct. 7. He enjoys making loaves not usually sold in Pittsburgh. Daily selections include three different sourdough, two focaccia and one ciabatta. A loaf of bread can cost between $6 and $8.
He created a pistachio/cranberry bread for Thanksgiving.
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Online orders are available through Monday as long as supplies last and can be placed here.
“We weren’t sure about opening during a pandemic, but people have been so supportive in this neighborhood,” said Aimee DiAndrea Anoia, who co-owns the bakery with husband, chef Dave Anoia. “Business has been going well so far.”
People like the various choices, and there’s nothing better than fresh bread, said Anoia, especially for the holidays.
“A Thanksgiving table is complete with a loaf of bread,” Anoia said. “You may have less people at the table this year because of the pandemic, and you might have to pre-cut the bread instead of everyone just taking a piece from the same loaf, but it’s still an important part of the meal.”
Most of the bread recipes are Malburg’s. He experiments with new concoctions to create a variety of choices such as the pistachio/cranberry bread. He plans on making a honey wheat for the Christmas season.
Malburg maneuvers around the 2,000-square-foot kitchen like he’s made bread a million times. He knows by the sound of the mixer when the dough is ready. The ciabatta bread takes 40 minutes to mix, and has to start out slow and then the speed increases. It will double in size. Sourdough has to spend the night in a proofer, a cabinet that allows you to set the temperature and humidity levels so the yeast can work slowly.
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“I mix it up until I feel happy about it,” Malburg said.
He uses every minute to do something, whether it’s wiping down a counter, mixing all the elements, stretching the dough in 20 minute intervals or checking the oven to pull out fresh loaves at the exact minute.
Malburg can tell just by looking at a loaf if it’s baked properly. Bread continues to bake after it’s pulled out of the oven.
Don’t try to cut it right away.
“That could be baked a little longer,” he said on a recent morning as he pulled a loaf out of the 550-degree oven. “I want it to be perfect.”
Malburg starts at 3:30 a.m.
“You really have to want to make bread,” he said. “And it takes years of practice. There are certain techniques you learn just from doing it.”
In addition to Pane e Pronto, DiAndrea and Anoia opened DiAnoia’s Eatery in 2016, located nearby. In 2019, they introduced Pizzeria Davide alongside it, and added a Robinson Township location this summer. A third Pizzeria Davide location is slated to open in Carnegie later this year.
In addition to the homemade breads, the bakery sells ready-made meals such as greens and beans, meatballs, lasagna and chicken parmesan, which are some of DiAnoia’s signature dishes.
Pane è Pronto is located at 2627 Penn Ave., Strip District. Regular hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The bakery will be closed on Thanksgiving and hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27.