Wesley Ervin, head baker and co-owner (together with wife Sarah) of Sundog Bread in Holualoa town, was surrounded by a family that valued food—that is, where it comes from, who cultivates it, and how it is grown.
“Growing up in North Carolina, I was amazed at the number of people who didn’t share those same values—some who didn’t even cook at home,” he says.
By the time he was 17, Wesley was at work washing dishes at a local restaurant when he picked up a copy of “Kitchen Confidential,” a book written by the original culinary bad-boy, the late Anthony Bourdain. In that book, which rocketed him to fame, Bourdain likened restaurants’ back-of-house operations to the trenches where swashbuckling, anti-authoritarian “pirates” (line cooks) battled it out each night.
“It inspired me. I was young, and I liked the idea of being a pirate,” Wesley says.
A humble, gentle soul, Wesley is actually the absolute antithesis of Bourdain’s bad-boy pirate image. He bypassed formal culinary school training, opting instead to learn cooking and baking skills on the job in various culinary positions throughout his home state, as well as in Nashville, TN, and Chicago, IL. Impressively, they included a Michelin-starred restaurant or two.
“Mostly I learned through error, and I’m still doing that almost daily,” Wesley says.
Always passionate about learning more, he developed an interest in producing naturally leavened organic breads and pastries. Using wild yeast, whole grains and locally sourced ingredients, he perfected his skills while working at Pleasant House Bakery and Publican Quality Meats in Chicago. He quickly made the leap from line cook to baker, finding more inspiration in Chad Robertson, the owner of the highly acclaimed Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.
“His specialty is high hydration sourdough loaves with large open holes that create a creamy, moist texture inside and super crunchy crust on the outside. That’s the ideal end result of the sourdough breads I make here on Hawaiʻi Island today,” he says.
From big-city life in Chicago to settling in sleepy Holualoa, Wesley claims he and Sarah had no intention of moving to Hawai‘i or starting a small business here.
“In early 2017, we needed a break. My brother, Josh, was living on Oʻahu, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, and he encouraged us to visit. We’d never been to Hawai‘i; it was a long distance to travel from the mainland Midwest, so we planned on staying a month,” he says.
Little did they know, however, that their new home was about to find them during what was to be a “quick” side trip to Hawai‘i Island before heading home to Chicago.
Serendipity, blind luck, or something simply meant to be, they found a spot to stay for one week on a coffee farm in Hōlualoa—a coffee farm that just happened to have a wood-fired oven the owner was happy to let them use. That one week turned into a few weeks, and they never looked back.
“The community here was so kind and welcoming, it all just seemed to come together so naturally,” Wesley says.
Before long, they were taking the bread they baked on the farm—just 20 to 30 loaves—to sell roadside in town.
“Those loaves were actually pretty ugly, but thankfully, people saw past that and enjoyed the flavor and texture,” Wesley says.
And so, Sundog Bread was born. “The name really has no connection to the rare atmospheric Sundog Phenomenon, where crystals form around the sun, creating two bright lights (mock suns) on each side. We just really wanted a name that was bright, cute and memorable,” he says.
In ancient folklore, however, it was believed sightings of the Sundog Phenomenon signaled a time of clarity, new purpose and new beginnings. Folklore or not, that belief perfectly reflects where the couple found themselves at the time.
Flash forward nearly nine years, and their small enterprise has grown to include 30 commercial accounts, catering services, stands at community events, and of course, the original venue—a pop-up tent roadside each Wednesday. Fronting the Crown Flower Studio in the heart of Holualoa, sales begin at 1:30 PM and continue until sold out. Insider tip: Get there early, as everything goes quickly!
Some freshly baked Sundog goodies can also be found at a number of retail and on-premise locations in West Hawaiʻi. They include Kona Coffee & Tea, HICO, Petals & Provisions, La Bourgogne French Restaurant, Waimea Coffee Company, Big Island Brewhaus, Kukio, Kohanaiki, Hokulia and Westin Hapuna, Wesley says.
The Sundog team (a handful of full- and part-time employees) operates out of a professionally outfitted commercial kitchen situated on a hillside in Holualoa. They turn out 3500 pounds of whole grain sourdough, rye and wheat dough for assorted breads, pastries and pizza weekly, along with about 80 pounds of pasta. Those totals rise to nearly double during Easter/Passover, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah holidays, Wesley says. Some of those seasonal specials include pumpkin/ginger and mountain apple pies; stollen and hot cross buns, and brioche sourdough rolls.
Year-round production includes items found nowhere else on the island, according to Wesley. Among the breads: seven different varieties of sourdough loaves (whole and sliced) and sourdough baguettes. Sweet pastries include: traditional, chocolate and twice-baked jaboticaba mac nut croissants, rye brownies, dark chocolate rye cookies, Persian love cakes, and lilikoi swirl and cream cheese-topped cinnamon buns. The savory delights are flaky croissants filled with cheese, herbs, spices and some with ham. Make-at-home pizza dough and 10-ounce bags of fresh, organic pasta round out the products found at the pop-up tent on Wednesdays.
Except for grains (they don’t grow in Hawai‘i!), which come from Central Milling in Petaluma, CA, all ingredients are sourced locally from like-minded producers, including the ham obtained from a small farm in Hōlualoa where domestic pigs are raised with care and love, according to Wesley.
“We’re taking all these amazing, exceptional local fruits and veggies and changing the format in which they are usually eaten. Whether it’s in a pastry or loaf, I like to think we’re keeping food exciting and fun for everyone—our team and our customers. I believe in flavor first always, and Hawai‘i makes that easy,” he says.
Among the local providers: Adaptations, Hawaiʻi Island Goat Dairy, Pu‘upale Ranch (free-range chicken eggs) Koloko Mushrooms, McCann Farms, OK Farms, ‘Ulu Cooperative and Dole’s Waialua Estate Single Origin 70% Cacao.
Without a dedicated retail outlet of their very own all these years, something new is in the works, according to Wesley. Plans are nearing completion for a long-awaited retail store/pizzeria conveniently located in Kailua-Kona. Stay tuned for more details by following Sundog Bread on social media platforms.
In the meantime, the only swashbuckling would-be pirate Wesley takes part in today is well away from the kitchen. On rare days off, he’s on shore in upcountry forests, participating in action-packed paintball adventures.
SundogBread.com.
“Whether it’s in a pastry or a loaf, I like to think we’re keeping food exciting and fun for everyone—our team and customers.” —Wesley Ervin.