Marble rye

For each dough, mix the rye flour, white sugar, instant yeast and lukewarm water in the stand mixer bowl and rest 20 minutes; this hydrates the rye flour and gives the yeast a head start.

Add the sour cream to the bowl, then whisk the bread flour, kosher salt and vital wheat gluten together and add them.

Mix with dough hooks on medium-low until a smooth tacky ball forms, three to five minutes; a little sticky is fine and it becomes workable after the first rise.

Cover with plastic wrap and rise one hour, to not quite double but well puffed.

Repeat for the second dough, adding two tablespoons of cocoa powder with the dry ingredients for the darker half.

Turn both doughs out onto a well-floured surface, punch all the air out, fold into cylinders and roll from the centre outward into evenly sized baguettes.

Braid the light and dark ropes into a plaited loaf and set it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush with vegetable oil, cover with plastic wrap and rise about another hour to roughly one and a half times its size.

Brush with a whole beaten egg and bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, to about 205F at the thickest point.

Cool completely, about two hours, before cutting.

Variation: the first loaf rose out instead of up because it was too big, so he halved both doughs and made a smaller plaited loaf from one pair of halves.

Variation: with the other halves, roll each flat, roll one into the other and set the spiral into a greased parchment-lined loaf pan; oil, wrap and rise one hour to about double.

Bake the second pair at 350F, skipping the egg wash, and brush with melted butter while hot to make up the colour.

Cool on a wire rack at least two hours before slicing.