I recently spent a day trying out the role of assistant baker for Duluth’s Best Bread. The amount of time and effort that goes into their scrumptious goodness defies belief. Furthermore, the simple ingredients that go into a traditional sourdough are completely unimpressive. The real feat is accomplished by the wild yeast and lactobacilli that run wild in a symbiotic relationship through Michael Lillegard’s time-tested method of cold fermentation.

He is a farmer, of sorts, engaged in the humble task of husbandry while providing a healthy environment for wild yeast and probiotic bacteria to flourish. The story of sourdough, one that dates back thousands of years, is interesting. The fact that this 24-year-old just graduated with a master’s degree in an arcane field of mathematics, and could be mired within a PhD program right now at this very moment, makes it all the more so. This is the story of a bright millennial rejecting a sedentary future spent in front of computers even before it began.

Read more about this one-of-a-kind bakery located within the burgeoning craft district of Lincoln Park over at Ed’s Big Adventure.