Luis Troyano

Lore

“Opposites Attract” is a title with a built-in baking conversation: contrasting flavours and textures held together in a set of 12 rye rolls. One dough stays pale with fennel and parsnip; the other goes dark with carrot, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate. Rolled together and sliced, they bake as dual-coloured spirals—rye’s earthy crumb carrying the contrast so it reads as deliberate rather than unresolved.

Source note

Public recreation / fan method — not the baker’s original formula. Paraphrased from Twisted Rye Bread, Relaxed Recipes; this is not Luis Troyano’s original formula.

Ingredients

Base rye dough

• 8.8 oz bread flour
• 4.2 oz rye flour
• 0.2 oz instant yeast (about 2¼ tsp)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 8.1 fl oz warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large egg

Pale fennel–parsnip dough

• half of the base dough
• 4.2 oz cooked mashed parsnips, cooled
• 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
• ½ tsp fennel pollen (optional)
• extra flour, as needed

Dark carrot–coffee–chocolate dough

• half of the base dough
• 4.2 oz cooked mashed carrots, cooled
• 2 tbsp strong coffee, cooled
• 2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• extra flour, as needed

Assembly

• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk (egg wash)
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds, for topping
• coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Method

1. Steam the parsnips and carrots separately until very tender, about 15 minutes. Mash each until completely smooth, season lightly with salt, and cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, mix the bread flour, rye flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the warm water, olive oil, and egg and mix to a shaggy dough. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave about 1½ hours until doubled.
3. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Knead the mashed parsnips, ground fennel, and fennel pollen into one half, adding a little flour if the vegetables make it sticky. Knead the mashed carrots, coffee, cocoa, and melted chocolate into the other half until the dough is a rich brown.
4. Put each flavoured dough in its own oiled bowl, cover, and leave about 45 minutes until puffy.
5. Roll each dough into a rectangle of the same size. Lay the dark dough on top of the pale dough, roll up tightly like a jelly roll, and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place cut-side up on parchment-lined baking sheets.
6. Cover lightly and leave about 30 minutes until puffy. Heat the oven to 375°F/340°F fan. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with fennel seeds and coarse salt, and bake 18–20 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding.

Baker’s tips

• Cool the vegetable mashes fully before kneading them in, or the dough softens too far.
• Match the two rectangles so the spiral stays even when you roll and slice.
• Judge the final rise by puff, not only the clock—the rolls should look soft before they hit the oven.