Meet Jeff Shriner | Mathematician, Sourdough Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Shriner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, what matters most to you?
A principle that has become very important to me is to value process over product. A common thread between the things I’ve found most fulfilling in life has been that they didn’t come quickly, or easily. It’s natural to avoid hard things and to bow out when something feels over my head. But I think part of flourishing as a human is to have experiences that stretch my current understanding, challenges that require me to learn something new, and successes that are the result of improvements on past failed attempts. I find real joy in end products because of the process that led to them, and I try to lean into that as much as I can.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Growing up I had a very narrow view on the concept of a career. I spent a lot of time anguishing over the “right” occupation. It wasn’t until fairly recently that I realized I was asking myself the wrong question. The first question shouldn’t be “what single thing should I be doing?”, but “what general task(s) do I find most satisfying?”.

I am a problem solver. This realization first led me to pursue a career in mathematics, which was the purest form of problem solving I could think of. But the great thing about pursuing a general task over a single occupation is that there are always connections to new opportunities. While in graduate school, I found new problem solving challenges in teaching and in programming. And while not every opportunity maintains a permanent place in my career, I’ve found that I carry pieces of each one with me to the next opportunity. I am primarily a math educator currently, but my practice is informed and enhanced by my experiences in both research mathematics and programming.

I’ve really enjoyed the unexpected connections. In 2017 while trying to finish my dissertation, I watched a documentary called “Cooked” by Michael Pollan, and learned about sourdough bread. Something was mentioned about only needing flour and water to cultivate some sort of wild yeast that’s all around us, and I had to learn more. Shortly after, I had created my own sourdough starter and was experimenting to see what I could create with it. What started as a welcomed distraction from finishing my thesis has now turned into a significant way in which I provide for my family and engage with my community.

Baking sourdough has stuck with me because it’s practical, but also because it’s one of those process-level things that I find so fulfilling. It’s not the quickest or easiest way to make bread. It’s not always predictable. You have to pay attention to the variables around you and be mindful of how things are progressing. You don’t bake sourdough after a certain amount of time has passed — you bake it when it’s ready. It may sound like a joke at first to hear that sourdough baking fulfills me for the same reason that mathematics does, but they both require a similar level of patience and a similar allowance for failure — two key ingredients in any complex problem solving task!

About a year ago I started a micro-bakery, Wild Wheat & Whisky, through the Colorado Cottage Foods Act as a way to connect more with my local community. While I do sell product currently, my hope is to develop more into a teaching kitchen and be more involved in others’ journeys who would like to learn how to make sourdough baking a sustainable part of their routine.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would spend lots of time outdoors. We’d do a trail run or hike at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area, see the sunset over Horsetooth Reservoir from Duncan’s Ridge, and hike all around Lory State Park until we needed a cool off in one of the coves at the reservoir.

We’d also do a bicycle brew tour to visit the amazing brewery scene in Fort Collins. Stodgy, Equinox, Odell, and Hello Brew would all be on the list. We’d definitely do a meal at Little on Mountain, but there’d also be plenty of cooking, baking, and chatting on the back patio at home. We’d commemorate the visit with a timeless tintype photo at Porkpie Photography.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to my wife, Kinsi. She always supports new adventures, and is actually the one that typically inspires them. Putting process over product isn’t always the easiest choice to make, and usually requires a lot of work, but she’s in for it. Here’s to the beautiful things in our life because of it — our marriage, our kids, the home we’ve cultivated — and the many to come!

Website: https://jshriner6.github.io/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildwheatandwhisky

Image Credits
Kinsi Shriner
Bekah Lamb – Field & Fray Photo
Chad Shryock – Porkpie Photography