Amy Scherber

The Climb

Training at St. Olaf College gave Amy Scherber the academic base; starting at New York Restaurant School in 1987 put that base into the rhythm of kitchen work. From there, the line runs through exacting city kitchens: garde manger at Bouley in Tribeca, New York City, bakery training in France, and later baker at Mondrian in East 59th Street, New York City. Each step built on the last, adding composition, technical rigor, and the repetition that turns ingredients into bread with structure and intent. Today, Amy Scherber is the founder of Amy's Bread (since 1992), and the title fits the work: steady, precise, and built to last. The throughline is consistency over flash, with a clear palate and a long practice of refining what bread can be.

Today

The strength of the work sits in persistence. In a trade that often prizes novelty, Amy Scherber’s career points instead to the value of staying with a craft long enough to know it well. Amy’s Bread, since 1992, carries that approach in practice: continuous work, active standards, and results shaped by attention as much as by ideas.

Signature

Amy's signature dishes include country sourdough, black sesame, semolina with raisins and fennel, Amy's Bread signature French croissant, and Amy's Bread signature hand-rolled sourdough bagels. Read together, they show a baker working from fundamentals while leaving room for texture, contrast, and nuance. Country sourdough brings structure and depth; black sesame adds an aromatic edge; semolina with raisins and fennel moves between sweetness and spice; the Amy's Bread signature French croissant speaks to layered precision; and the Amy's Bread signature hand-rolled sourdough bagels carry that same discipline into a form shaped by touch and repetition.

In Their Words “Bread just used to be sad. What was needed was good sourdough with crumb.” “I don’t really want to be bigger.” These lines make the position plain: a baker interested in fixing something basic, and in protecting the integrity of the work rather than chasing scale.

Recognition

Amy's honors include James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef (1997). The nomination fits the larger shape of the career: a steady, precise approach to baking that began with study, was sharpened in kitchens, and found its center in Amy’s Bread.