Serpico's Bread Co. launches pizza truck

With the establishment of his fully equipped pizza truck earlier this spring, what started as a pandemic diversion for Jim Serpico has flowered into a full-time obsession.

Kitted out with a wood-and-gas oven and a commercial (if cramped) kitchen, Serpico’s Bread Co. truck is an itinerant presence at a business park in Syosset, on alternating Thursdays at the New Hyde Park farmers market, at most Food Truck Fridays at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Levittown and at street fairs and public and private events all over Long Island. (Follow the truck at serpicosbreadco.com)

Serpico’s 12-inch Neapolitan pizzas ($14.99 to $19.99) range from Margherita (with low-moisture rather than fresh mozzarella) to the more fanciful Truffle & Shroom (with truffle oil and cremini mushrooms) and Sweet & Salty (Gorgonzola and mozzarella, fig jam, prosciutto). No matter the toppings, they are distinguished by puffy, toothsome crusts that are delicious on their own.

Meant for two people (or bigger appetites), 2-foot-long pizzas "alla pala" ($18.99 to $24.99) are flatbreads baked directly on the floor of the oven. Cut into "metro" squares ($4.99), they are perfect for a quick bite. The palas are also pressed into service for schiacciata panini ($11.99 to $15.99), wherein a whole flatbread is sliced horizontally and filled with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and balsamic (the "Caprese & Chill) or prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, red peppers, arugula and balsamic glaze (the Hustle & Flow; the Toss the Bird swaps out prosciutto for honey-maple turkey).

You can also get a homemade bread bowl filled with pasta ($13.99 to $18.99) and wrap things up with gelato.

Serpico’s baking journey began with prosciutto bread and the desire to recapture the specific flavor of the prosciutto bread that he and his father used to eat "back in the day" at Park Side Italian restaurant in Corona, Queens. "My father died young," he said, "and my mission was to make that bread for my family."

During the early days of COVID, he was sidelined from his day job in television and film production. In Carol Field’s 1995 cookbook, "The Italian Baker," he found the recipe he was looking for and started to explore the wider world of European breads made the traditional way, using preferments and starters rather than commercial yeast. (The American term "sourdough" implies a sour taste, which isn’t a feature of most artisan breads such as focaccia, pane Pugliese, ciabatta, pain au levain, etc.)

Serpico posted his bread on Instagram and, in short order, the granddaughter of the organizer of the Lindenhurst farmers market reached out to ask if he’d like to be a vendor there. He dubbed his new business "Side Hustle" and was soon selling prosciutto bread and more at five markets and some short-lived pop-ups. But, by 2023, he "was getting burned out with the grind of prepping, transporting, selling" bread.

That was about the time that he started to focus on pizza. "First of all," he declared, "pizza is bread. What I love about it is that it’s so simple — not easy, simple. It’s all about the dough, how it’s kneaded, how it’s fermented."

Serpico fell down the pizza rabbit hole, and fell hard. You’ve heard about the pizza rabbit hole, that innocent aperture that widens into a cavern filled with endless discussions of hydration levels, fermentation times, kneading technique, gluten content and flour provenance. Serpico also fell hard for the community of pizzaioli. "There was so much camaraderie — I never found that with bread bakers," he said.

Not only did he benefit from the counsel of local pizza makers (among them, Anthony Laurino, of Phil’s Pizza in Syosset, Dario Carosi, of Dario’s in West Hempstead, Ervis Xhelaj, of Flora’s in Syosset and Port Washington), but he and his wife-partner, Sherrie, began traveling to conventions and seminars.

In 2022, he retired from his production day job. In 2023 he bought a portable, one-pie wood-burning Gozney pizza oven and mounted it on a small truck for catering parties. And, last year, he ordered a 26-by-8-foot Cargo Mate trailer and a Fiero Forni oven. In April, the truck made its first appearance at wineUdesign in Hicksville, now one of his regular gigs.

In a commissary kitchen, Serpico still bakes the breads that made Side Hustle's reputation — prosciutto, Cheddar-jalapeño, garlic-rosemary, semolina, plain sourdough and 100% whole wheat, $8 to $10 — and sells them every Sunday at the Farmingdale farmers market and from the truck, wherever it docks. But with the launch of the pizza truck, he retired the name Side Hustle. "I realized this was no longer a side hustle," he said. "It’s not a gag or an afterthought. I’ve got my family involved and it’s a part of my legacy."