Andrew Jylkka | Sourdough Baker

Andrew Jylkka (he/him) is the former owner and baker of Southeast Dough Company, in Sitka, Alaska. Andrew shut down his business in October, and talks about the process of grappling with a new way of working and understanding himself separate from his work. "I still want [my work] to be fulfilling. I still want my work to align with my values, but I don’t want my work to define my values... That’s something that you [Charlie] might have started to plant the seed for way back in '22, because we did the whole values exercise. And you’re like, well, what are your values and how are you expressing those through your business versus what are your business values? And those are different things. They should be different entities.“

Throughout this conversation, something deeply resonates in what Andrew takes from chapter to chapter of his life: “All of that exploration leads me to be a more complete human and having a better understanding myself so that I can make stronger choices for my future. That’s all we can do is make stronger choices. Like, nothing is guaranteed. We don’t know what is around the corner. But the more I know myself, the more sure I am that a choice I will make will move me down the path that expresses my values to the strongest degree."

When he is not creating community through bread, Andrew can be found hiking, foraging, hunting, diving, cooking, reading, and participating in circus arts.

Andrew can be found @sedoughco on both Facebook and Instagram, yet please know while he is no longer posting, one can see what he has done and also he can still get messages if anyone has questions for him.

resources :

Human|Work

This episode was recorded in February 2025.