Today’s guest is Melissa Weller, the chemical engineer-turned-baker and author of “Very Good Bread.” Melissa is a James Beard-nominated baker and the former head baker at Per Se and Roberta’s in New York City. She returns to the show to share her expertise on this iconic French bread.
Melissa joins host Jessie Sheehan to explore what it means to be a baker versus a pastry chef, her love for Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking with Julia,” and why a sturdy piece of cardboard is a surprising bread-baking essential. The duo walk through her Per Se Baguette recipe—breaking down the importance of pre-shaping and scoring, the difference between poolish and sourdough starter, and why a lid might be your best friend when making baguettes at home.
Click here for Melissa’s Baguette recipe.
Thank you to Ghirardelli Professional Products for supporting our show.
To get our new Love Issue, click here.
For Jubilee 2025 tickets, click here.
Subscribe to our baking newsletter.
Visit cherrybombe.com for subscriptions, show transcripts, and tickets to upcoming events.
More on Melissa: Instagram, website, “Very Good Bread” cookbook
More on Jessie: Instagram, “Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes” cookbook
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com