Fibonacci Spiral Growth Bread (Printable)

Loaf featuring spiraled layers of nuts, seeds, cheese, and vegetables with crisp crust and tender crumb.

# What you'll need:

→ Dough Base

01 - 4 cups strong bread flour
02 - 1.5 cups lukewarm water
03 - 3.5 ounces active sourdough starter or 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
04 - 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
05 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Fibonacci Spiral Additions

06 - 1.4 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
07 - 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
08 - 2.8 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
09 - 3.5 tablespoons grated hard cheese (Gruyère or Parmesan)
10 - 4 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes, drained
11 - 4.9 tablespoons mixed olives, pitted and chopped
12 - 5.6 tablespoons sautéed spinach, well-drained

# Preparation steps:

01 - In a large bowl, mix the bread flour and lukewarm water until just combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes to autolyse.
02 - Add the sourdough starter or instant yeast, sea salt, and olive oil. Mix thoroughly until a sticky dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
03 - Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, until doubled in size.
04 - Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it evenly into seven portions.
05 - Knead each dough portion gently with one of the increasing quantities of add-ins: start with sunflower seeds, then walnuts, pumpkin seeds, grated cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives, and finish with sautéed spinach.
06 - Roll each portion into a rope shape. Coil the ropes sequentially from smallest to largest around a central point on a parchment-lined baking sheet, pressing ends together to seal the spiral.
07 - Cover the dough loosely and allow it to rise for 1.5 hours until puffy.
08 - Preheat the oven to 445°F (230°C). Place an empty tray at the bottom of the oven to create steam during baking.
09 - Dust the loaf lightly with flour and slash along the spiral lines with a sharp blade to allow expansion during baking.
10 - Pour one cup of hot water into the steam tray and immediately place the bread in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the crust is golden brown and crisp.
11 - Transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • It's a showstopper that looks like you spent weeks mastering it, but the magic is mostly time and patience doing the work for you.
  • Each spiral segment reveals a surprise flavor—it's like unwrapping gifts as you slice, discovering seeds, cheese, olives, and herbs in perfect proportion.
  • The long fermentation creates a complex, deeply satisfying tang and crumb that store-bought bread can't touch.
  • Once you nail the technique, you'll be making variations for every gathering because people genuinely lose their minds over it.
02 -
  • Your starter or yeast temperature controls everything. Cold dough rises slowly and develops deeper flavor; warm dough rushes through fermentation and tastes flat. If your kitchen is cool, extend the rise. If it's warm, shorten it. Taste the dough before shaping—it should smell complex and slightly tangy, like promise.
  • Spinach is a silent saboteur if not drained properly. I learned this the hard way when a loaf collapsed because hidden moisture weakened the final spiral. Now I sauté it, cool it, squeeze it hard in a towel, and squeeze again. It feels extreme, but it's the difference between a sturdy loaf and a disappointment.
  • The spiral must be pressed together firmly at each stage, or it will unravel during oven spring. Gentle handling elsewhere, but aggressive sealing at the joins—this is the one place where firmness matters.
03 -
  • If your kitchen is cold, place the rising dough in a turned-off oven with the light on, or near (not touching) a warm radiator. Fermentation thrives between 22–26°C; outside this range, timing becomes unpredictable.
  • Instant yeast works in a pinch, but sourdough starter gives you incomparably better flavor—if you don't have one, start feeding a jar of flour and water today. By tomorrow, you'll have something alive and ready to transform your bread.
  • The slashes are not decoration; they're engineering. They tell the dough exactly where you want it to expand, preventing random bursts and helping steam escape evenly for a crisp crust.
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