San Geronimo resident Melissa Esposito of Melissa’s Breads never planned to start a small-batch bread business. But three years ago, when the formally trained chef asked the local community on Nextdoor if they too were struggling with finding vegan and wheat-free bread, nearly 300 responses poured in, confirming her hunch that there was a real gap in the market.

In the span of two weeks, Esposito developed a recipe, established a website and obtained a cottage food license. She began taking online orders in October 2022 and distributing loaves through Emma’s Shop in downtown Fairfax. The following summer, she expanded to the Fairfax and Point Reyes Station farmers markets before shifting full focus to retail grocers, starting with Good Earth Natural Foods.

Esposito’s core recipe strikes a balance between culinary precision and health-conscious simplicity. Her two breads — the Marin Homestead Loaf and Homestead-Minis with Dates — are densely packed with organic ingredients, including rolled oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, flaxseed meal, raw almonds, chia seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, raw hazelnuts, Redmond Real Salt, whole psyllium husk and coconut sugar.

Handcrafted without refined sugar, soy, yeast, seed oils or gums, each slice delivers seven to eight grams of protein and holds up equally well toasted or eaten straight from the package.

Raised in Pennsylvania in a Sicilian American household where scratch cooking and restaurant outings were the norm, Esposito’s culinary path was set long before she moved West in her mid-20s.

“It was a classic cliche, visiting California on a whim and falling in love in the first hour, knowing I had to live here,” she said.

After dabbling in law and nonprofit work, she finally homed in on what she’d been drawn to all along.

“The most obvious thing I missed in the first quarter of my life was that food has always been the thing,” said Esposito of her decision in 2016 to enroll in culinary school in Santa Barbara.

While still a student, a chance encounter with Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee led to a job at his Montecito restaurant. Over the next two years, she helped open four of his new concepts, eventually cooking alongside him at his acclaimed tasting-menu venture, the Silver Bough.

When it closed in 2019, she joined the team at Caruso’s, the one-star Michelin restaurant at Montecito’s Rosewood Miramar Beach hotel, working on the garde manger line prepping oysters, salads and ceviche until the pandemic brought it all to a halt.

During the 2020 lockdown, Esposito relocated to Tiburon and helped run the meal delivery service at organic catering company A Fork Full of Earth. She went on to launch Your Nutritional Chef, creating customized meals that addressed her clients’ health goals without sacrificing flavor or enjoyment.

As a certified wellness practitioner, Esposito’s focus on gut-friendly, anti-inflammatory foods is grounded in her studies of Ayurveda and her own experience managing rosacea and energy issues. That perspective informs every part of her business today, from soaking grains to boost digestibility to choosing biodegradable and recycled packaging.

When she couldn’t find a bread that met her standards for herself or those she cooked for, she decided to make her own, and so it began.

Next up in the product line is a vegan, gluten-free tahini chocolate chip cookie that debuts on June 20.

Beyond that, Esposito plans to grow gradually and mindfully.

“I don’t want to sacrifice the integrity of what I’m doing just to expand,” said Esposito, although adding a few San Francisco grocery stores might be on the horizon this fall.

Melissa’s Breads are stocked at Good Earth in Mill Valley and Fairfax, Palace Market in Point Reyes Station, Driver’s Market and Deli in Sausalito and the Farm Stand in Forest Knolls.

Each loaf is hand-wrapped in compostable packaging and keeps six days in the fridge or longer in the freezer. Learn more at melissasbreads.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with comments and find more local food news at therealdealmarin.com.