A local baker who gave rise to many a hoagie

Daniel Amoroso Sr., 91, president of Amoroso's Baking Co., died Tuesday at his home in Wynnewood.

Amoroso's bread - crusty outside, soft inside - has been a Philadelphia tradition since Mr. Amoroso's Italian immigrant grandfather, Salvatore, fired up a brick oven in West Philadelphia almost 100 years ago.

As a child, Mr. Amoroso learned to shape dough and shove it into a big, brick oven with a wooden paddle.

Later, he dropped out of Overbrook High School to deliver bread to homes in Italian neighborhoods. When his father died in 1947, he and his three younger brothers, Leonard, Vincent and Salvatore, took over the bakery.

The brothers finally convinced store owners in Philadelphia that non-Italians would eat their bread, Mr. Amoroso said in a 1996 interview, and the bakery began delivering rolls to sandwich shops - where they became an essential component of Philly cheesesteaks and hoagies - and to supermarkets.

For years, Mr. Amoroso had the company slogan, "We make the rolls that make Philly's sandwiches world famous," plastered on Italian-flag billboards along strategic roads.

When he started in the business, he said, he routinely put in 14- to 15-hour days, starting at 1 a.m. "This kind of business demands attention," he said. "It's like your mother's kitchen at home - she has to pay attention."

The bakery stopped using brick ovens more than 60 years ago and now uses automated equipment that Mr. Amoroso found in Europe and Israel. Flour has been delivered in bulk in railcars since the 1960s.

In his later years, Mr. Amoroso left day-to-day business to his son, Daniel Jr., and his nephew Leonard Jr. Until only weeks ago, though, he visited the bakery seven days a week, his son said, and kept tabs on the West Philadelphia facility, which has more than 400 employees.

For 20 years until 1996, Mr. Amoroso ran a second company, Philadelphia Baking Co. in Northeast Philadelphia, which produced private-label bread and rolls.

He was past president of the Bakers Club of Philadelphia.

Mr. Amoroso married Jean DiSalvo Amoroso in 1941. They owned vacation homes in Ocean City, N.J., and Florida and drove back and forth from Florida in the winter, visiting friends along the way. When his wife became ill, he helped care for her at home for five years until she died in 2003.

The couple assisted unwed mothers in the Philadelphia area for years, providing them with food, clothing and furniture, their son said. They were honored to be godparents to several of the women's children, he said.

Mr. Amoroso regularly donated and delivered bread and other food to St. Francis Cabrini Home and to the Little Sisters of the Poor Nursing Home in Philadelphia. He also provided bread and rolls for the annual bazaar at St. Donato's Church in West Philadelphia and delivered holiday food baskets to those in need.

As a longtime member of the Overbrook Lions Club, he helped raise money for the Overbrook School for the Blind.

He gave from the heart, his son said, and never wanted acknowledgment.

In addition to his son, Mr. Amoroso is survived by daughters Trudy Calderon and Nancy Ash; a brother, Salvatore; nine grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. today and 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the D'Anjolell Memorial Home, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Donato Church, 403 N. 65th St. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.