Carissa Waechter has a simple philosophy about baking: “The final results should always be perfectly imperfect,” she says. If that’s the case, the pastry chef has mastered the art of imperfection, and the lines out the door at Waechter’s beloved original Carissa’s Bakery at the Newtown Lane location in East Hampton prove it.
This summer, the wait is likely to only get longer since the Carissa’s Bakery staff has been busy cooking up some tasty new developments. “I am lucky and appreciative to work alongside some of the greatest and most interesting people I’ve ever met,” Waechter says, noting she’s just “one member of a very thoughtful team” that puts “a ton of effort behind every item that’s offered at the bakery.”
That will now include newcomer Evan Tessler, a Union Square Hospitality alum who most recently was chef at Untitled, a restaurant attached to the Whitney Museum in Manhattan that recently closed after almost a decade in operation. Chef Tessler will helm the 75-seat café, restaurant, and bakery at Carissa’s 221 Pantigo location, which opened in 2019 and serves up dishes that utilize produce sourced in the area, such as a house-roasted beef sandwich with horseradish cream and local arugula served on a baguette. Waechter notes her formercustomer-turned-business partner, Lori Chemla, “pours herself into sourcing products with interesting backgrounds and producers” and “deserves an enormous amount of credit for making and finding standouts.”
Waechter’s a standout in her own right, and this summer she’s put together a brand-new gelato flavor for the season based on the sweet Oishii Omakase berry. She’s also been busy working on reconceiving some classic recipes with a twist.
“I find the creative outlet incredibly therapeutic,” Waechter says of continually honing her baking skills and what she offers customers. “This season I’m playing with different variations on the galette: unique crusts, a wide variety of seasonal fruits, fun garnishes, plus savory versions with help from our awesome kitchen.”
She’s also always experimenting with viennoiserie, or baked goods made with a yeast-leavened dough, so customers should anticipate relishing specials like the savory za’atar croissant with white sesame or poppy croissant with lemon curd.
As always, Carissa’s Bakery will continue to offer the foods they’ve become most famous for, including Waechter’s popular salty sour pickle rye bread as well as the establishment’s specialty—custom layer and chocolate flourless cakes topped with whimsical Swiss meringue peaks.
Waechter got her start in the baking world as an apprentice to a pastry world champion, and that led to a variety of unique baking opportunities. Despite her rich background and training through the years, she hasn’t forgotten how her roots have affected her success in the baking business. “I think it’s in my blood—my great-grandmother lived on a wheat farm and was the famous pie baker of her area in her day.”
Wheat also happens to have been the impetus for Waechter’s idea to open Carissa’s Bakery. In 2009, she was doing a summer project in Amagansett and Amber Waves Farm began growing wheat on the East End for the first time in decades. “I began playing and realized there was an audience for breads and baked goods, and so I ‘planted the seeds,’ starting small.”
She sold baked products locally and co-founded a nonprofit dedicated to farmers and food producers, and eventually she decided to take the plunge and open and operate her own business, which became Carissa’s Bakery.
Ever since, Waechter has managed to create culinary magic based on her personal recipe for success—sensory overload. “In terms of the baked goods,” she says, “I have a mental formula I follow to try to capture as many senses as possible within any single offering: bright colors alongside neutrals when appropriate; crunchy and soft in the same bite; fresh and roasted textures at the same time.”
Not only do her creations sound delicious, Carissa Bakery fans would agree they look, smell, and taste amazing, too.
