Passione Pane Wood-Oven Pizza & Bread Serves Up Authentic Italian Pies

Photography Provided by Josh Brown & Passione Pane

Passione Pane Wood-Oven Pizza & Bread has been serving up authentic pies for nearly five years.

Owner Sam Chamsine, who grew up in Udine, Italy, has spent a large part of his life perfecting his food.

“Everything we make here is 100 percent Italian, and I make sure all of our food tastes great,” Chamsine says. “I have spent more than 29 years in the restaurant industry between Italy and Germany. I started out as a pastry chef, and I owned an Italian restaurant in Berlin called De ‘Noantri.’ We have a lot of gourmet chefs there, and we serve some of the best food in the city.”

Chamsine says Fishers was the perfect spot to open his restaurant.

“It was a huge opportunity to deliver something different from what you can get around here,” he says. “I opened the restaurant in April 2014, and I’ve been very happy with my choice. I love the community support from the great people in Fishers. They love our pizza, and we give them warm and friendly service.”

The name of the restaurant is Italian for “Passion for bread.” Chamsine stresses authenticity in everything he makes.

“Our homemade dough is free from sugar, dairy products, eggs, corn syrup, soy and any kind of preservatives, and it is made from scratch with the best flour quality on the market,” he says.

Chamsine says that the sausage is homemade, and the pepperoni imported directly from Italy.

“Another big reason everything tastes so fresh is that we support local farmers and many of our produce is organic,” Chamsine says. “Our oven is imported and is a 100 percent all-stone, cooking temperature 950-degree ‘Pavesi Wood Oven,’ which is one of the top wood oven manufacturing companies in Italy. Everything is fresh and made from scratch. It’s very high-quality pizza.”

Passione Pane serves 12 individual, one-size pizzas, with a large variety of selections to choose from. They include Pizza Margherita, Pizza Romana with anchovies, capers, olives and oregano, Pizza Bianca with Gorgonzola cheese, pear, walnuts and organic baby arugula, Pizza Contadina with potatoes, homemade sausage and rosemary, Pizza Primavera with organic tomatoes and 12-Month parmigiana Reggiano and a special pizza with homemade sausage, ricotta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and organic basil.

Those are just a few of the choices.

“We have daily specials that rotate, and those seem to be the most popular pizzas with our guests,” Chamsine adds.

Chamsine has his own personal favorite. “I really love the cheese pizza because you can really taste the main ingredients, the dough, crushed San Mariano tomatoes and whole milk mozzarella,” he says.

“Our Pavesi Wood Oven stays warm until the next day, which enables the staff to bake their homemade bread before the fire even starts,” Chamsine says. “Our guests love our bread, and we get a lot of special orders for different events.”

The bread selections include Pane Rustico, a traditional Italian baguette, an Oregano Focaccia, a nine-inch bread with Oregano and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Rosemary Focaccia, a nine-inch bread with Rosemary and extra Olive Oil among many others.

“Our Asiago Bread and Focaccia Special is a nine-inch bread with arugula, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and extra olive oil,” Chamsine says.

Homemade cake slices, homemade cake special orders, soups and salads are also available.

“One of the things I love about being here is the amount of support I have received from the Fishers and Geist communities,”Chamsine says. “We have really been able to grow because of them.”

Passione Pane Wood-Oven Pizza & Bread is located at 11640 Brooks School Road. You can give them a call at 317-712-6369 or visit them online at passionepane.com.