In The Wild With Hope Tejedas Of Sunday Bread Project

by Leann DiPaola June 14, 2021

Meet Hope Tejedas from Sunday Bread Project. Hope is a badass baker from Portland, Oregon and a huge inspiration to me. We sat down with a charcuterie full of Sunday bread and Italian cheeses while we sipped some red wine and talked about her business, Sunday Bread Project, because that's what best friends do. Check out our interview below.

Tell us your background and how your interest and passion for baking grew?

Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by food. My Mom always tells the story about how I begged to make creme brûlée for my 5th birthday haha. I have so many great memories sharing food with friends and family and if you know my Dad, there is always bread at the table.

What led up to Sunday Bread Project?

I have been working in kitchens and the service industry in general since I was 15 and I have always enjoyed working with food, but once I started working with sourdough 3-4 years ago, it really fueled my mad scientist brain and creative approach for making things from scratch.

Sunday Bread started as a hobby and I really enjoyed eating my own bread and I loved that the end result was something delicious that you can eat with your friends. My friends were asking for bread and that inspired me to bake and sell. I slowly became addicted to trying new recipes and dialing in my craft. In February 2020 I had my first pop up at Wild Cactus and from there I learned that Portland really enjoys fresh sourdough bread! PDX has been a really fun and supportive community to be apart of. During quarantine I was baking everyday to dial in recipes and delivering bread to the community so they didn’t have to leave their homes.

Tell us about the process of working with sourdough that leads to the delicious bread and bagels you have been baking!

Baking with sourdough is kind of a nonstop process, since you’re keeping the starter alive even when you aren’t actively baking. I often feel like I'm living in the future. Day one of my work week started two days prior and somehow i’ll have bread in three, haha. Between working for Scotties Pizza Parlor and myself, often at the same time, i’m in the kitchen 3-4 full days a week nerding out on dough, it’s tight and I love it.

Where do you see all of this heading?

My goal someday is to have a family ran bakery & cafe that creates a community space for everyone to enjoy what I love doing. I’d love to give my nephew his first job. He just turned 1 so I have some time to dream up a plan!

I also really want to focus a lot of energy on giving back to our community.

Donating to organizations doing racial and social justice work. I always aim for SBP to be able to support these organizations and invest in people who are making great changes. I want to bake bread for a bigger picture.

Busy summer with Sunday bread?

Yes! Week to week it’s somewhat of a controlled chaos, haha. Between working with Scotties Pizza Parlor, hustling bagels and bread and trying to enjoy the Oregon summer with my dog daughter, Bobbie. I try to be flexible with myself and I really appreciate my community of customers being supportive of my ever evolving baking schedule. I will be doing weekly bakes and pop ups throughout the summer. We will be at Wild Cactus Boutique’s birthday party on Tuesday, June 15th from 2-5 pm! This month were donating 10% of sales to Skate Like A Girl PDX.

You are always shopping at Wild Cactus! What are your favorite items to shop for and what are your outfit choices while your baking and when your not baking?

My clothes have to be functional, comfortable, and fun to wear. I need to be able to lift a 50 lb bag of flour, run errands, and hit the skate park with my dog all in the same day haha. Whether that be bike shorts and sneakers or jeans and a t-shirt, WCB always has the kits. I love to express myself through clothing and style but being a baker and in the kitchen, I have to be practical with what I am wearing. Usually I am wearing a comfortable fun pant or Girlfriend bike shorts, Girlfriend tank top or a sweater or jacket, bucket hat or beanie. For self care, I also use all of the bathing culture and salt & stone products on the daily.

Hope is wearing the Yin Yang Tee , White Dad Jeans & Thick Knit Beanie

Outside of food, what inspires you?

People who are passionate about their craft and what they do in life, wether being apart of the snowboard, skate, art, or food community. I try to surround myself with really passionate hardworking people. I love being able to take a step away from work to go snowboarding, skate, hang with my family, friends and dog which creates a good work life balance for me.

Anything else you want to share with us?

Thank you for letting me explore my craft and trying new systems and schedules as this is an ever evolving project :) Thanks for supporting and stay tuned for what's to come!

To keep up with the latest or to grab some bagels & bread, follow @sundaybreadproject

Hope wearing the Ultra Shirt, White Dad Jeans & Thick Knit Beanie

All photos by @meaganforbes