It’s another story of one thing leading to another. Jessica Dunaway’s husband John challenged her to bake some sourdough bread. She did her research and started baking. Before you know it, she had baked enough bread to share with friends and family. Everyone was impressed, and One Loaf, a domestic micro-bakery, was born. As Jessica Dunaway puts it, “We’re just a small operation trying to connect with people.” One Loaf sourdough is served at San Simón and The Flamingo Room and you can buy loaves at Wild Petals Provisions in downtown Bend, as well.
Below are excerpts from the Bend Don’t Break: One Loaf podcast. Hear the entire interview on the weekly podcast at bendsource.com.
Source Weekly: You worked in the food industry for a long time. What made you decide to do your own thing?
Jessica Dunaway: The food industry honestly was a fun thing I did after college. I enjoyed it so much I stuck with it for a lot of years. My background was actually child development; I was a preschool teacher. I’m a mom now. I started baking sourdough on a challenge. One day my husband John looked at me and said, “Why don’t you try it?” I decided to accept the challenge and I started learning about sourdough; watching videos and reading blogs and stumbled upon this particular loaf that we all love. I call it a classic San Francisco white sourdough and I started sharing it with people. And they started saying, “Why aren’t you selling this?” Then we asked ourselves, “Could we sell it? Maybe.”
SW: So basically one thing led to another like so many other stories I hear in our community. Are you doing all the baking?
JD: I’m doing all the baking now. John has been running the business background side of things but for the most part, it’s been my baby. We officially started selling bread in May.
SW: Do you think you’ll expand beyond the one loaf?
JD: I’ve been experimenting with different shapes. It’s been really fun to take this dough and try and form a baguette or a larger sandwich loaf. One of the things we’ll probably follow through with is a sandwich loaf that we bake in a loaf pan. It’s working with this dough. It changes the crumb a little bit but it’s still really good and it makes it easier to slice.
SW: I guess it’s about finding that sweet spot between doing more to satisfy customers and doing what you can or want to do?
JD: Absolutely. For the time being it’s how I want it to fit with the family and about keeping a flow that doesn’t disrupt things too much. I enjoy the rhythm that this brings and the routine that it brings for me. Part of what took me by surprise when I started making sourdough was how much I would enjoy the process. Having my hands in the dough and feeling it change as the day progressed and just each little step, I really enjoy.
SW: You like the process?
JD: Yeah, I feel like it’s provided a rhythm, a routine, that I was looking for. I didn’t realize I could do something outside of myself to provide that. I see how it has a trickledown effect for my family, as well.
SW: If you talk to anyone who creates, they talk about liking the process. If you’re just excited about the finished product, it’s not going to sustain you.
JD: Yeah, and you have to be flexible. I’m learning to just feel the dough now. It’s less about the technique and more about, “what does the dough feel like.” It’s such a “felt” thing.
SW: It sounds like you’re challenged by it?
JD: It feels like an art, it’s like working with clay or other medium. If you work with it long enough, you kind of learn it. Some people want to be scientific about sourdough but that’s not me!
SW: It’s good for your soul.
JD: It’s like giving someone a hug; there’s something personal about it. It’s like an unspoken, “I care about you.” It’s been a neat community builder.
SW: Do you have any near future plans you’d like to share?
JD: One of the things that we’re looking at is setting up is a subscription for purchasing bread.
SW: To me it feels nourishing to eat bread that’s baked by my neighbor in my own community.
JD: I think it’s that human connection piece. I feel like there’s something about these smaller ventures that connect us.
SW: So this is your job now?
JD: John and I have been talking about work and business and how sometimes you start something and it grows into something big and sometimes it’s just a stepping stone into whatever the next thing. And I don’t know, but I’m really open.
This article appears in Source Weekly November 23, 2023.
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