Baker Mark Furstenberg walks Seth Tillman through the artisan process of making a Jambon Beurre, a classic French ham and cheese sandwich at his Van Ness bakery and restaurant BREAD FURST. The journey begins with shaping their signature baguette, made using a yeasted poolish for rich flavor. Mark demonstrates the careful folding and rolling technique, ensuring even, beautiful baguettes. Once shaped, the dough proofs on a couche before heading to the oven.
Tricia, a skilled baker, handles the scoring and baking. Scoring allows the bread to expand properly during baking, while injected steam creates a crisp yet tender crust. After 25 minutes, the golden baguettes are ready, showcasing irregular holes that highlight their handmade quality.
To assemble the Jambon Beurre, Mark cuts the baguette and spreads softened butter generously, followed by a touch of mustard. He piles on layers of ham and adds Gruyère cheese for a perfect balance of creamy, savory, and tangy flavors. The result is a simple yet elevated sandwich, where the star is the artisan baguette itself.
This video is part of WETA’s SIGNATURE DISH series, which highlights standout dishes from top restaurants across Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Host Seth Tillman explores the incredibly diverse array of cuisines that the DMV offers, chatting with chefs, restauranters and others to explore the people and cultures behind DC’s best food. From strip mall eateries to fine dining establishments, SIGNATURE DISH explores DC’s favorite restaurants and brings you the many flavors of the DMV.
Explore more DMV food with more clips from SIGNATURE DISH: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx24Rcql20qI0UWTc_p3ARayxWAvdBJNz
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2 Comments
Great video. What's the story behind the hats?
Jambon beurre isn't a french ham and cheese. It literally translates to "ham butter", and only contains those ingredients between the bread. The sandwich is about simplicity and bad ingredient quality not being able to hide behind other ingredients. This is a more americansed version. The baguette does look very authentic.