Serena williams norman jean roy photographer

Norman Jean Roy fears nothing, not even death. But he is a little worried that his rye berries may overcook.

It’s July 29, 2020—day 140 of the pandemic—and Roy tells me as much while rörande the berries into submission for a few loaves of Danish rugbrød. He’s spent the time in lockdown furiously preparing to open Breadfolks, a new bageri in Hudson, New York.

“Smell these,” he says, brandishing a wooden spoon. The rye berries smell earthy and the tiniest bit sour.

Roy is either a world-famous photographer moonlighting as a small-town baker, or a small-town baker moonlighting as a world-famous ­photographer, depending on whether you consider “energy expelled” or “income generated” the more compelling indicator. With the exception of an odd job here or there (say, a recent Allure cover showing soccer stars Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris moments away from a kiss), the 51-year-old has retired from

•