Fibonacci Spiral Growth Bread (Printable)

A visually captivating loaf with spiraled layers of nuts, seeds, cheese, and greens delivering crisp crust and tender crumb.

# Ingredient List:

→ Dough Base

01 - 4 cups strong bread flour
02 - 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
03 - 1/2 cup active sourdough starter or 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
04 - 2 tsp fine sea salt
05 - 1 tbsp olive oil

→ Fibonacci Spiral Additions

06 - 2 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
07 - 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
08 - 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
09 - 1/4 cup grated hard cheese (Gruyère or Parmesan)
10 - 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, drained
11 - 1/3 cup pitted and chopped mixed olives
12 - 3/8 cup sautéed spinach, well-drained

# How to Prepare:

01 - In a large bowl, combine flour and lukewarm water. Mix until just combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
02 - Add sourdough starter or instant yeast, salt, and olive oil to the bowl. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
03 - Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours until doubled in size.
04 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 7 equal portions.
05 - Knead each addition into one dough portion in ascending order of quantity: sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and spinach.
06 - Roll each portion into ropes. Coil ropes around a central point on a parchment-lined baking sheet to form a spiral. Press ends together to seal.
07 - Cover loosely and let the spiral rise for 90 minutes until puffed.
08 - Preheat the oven to 445°F. Place an empty tray on the oven’s bottom to generate steam.
09 - Dust the loaf with flour and slash spiral lines with a sharp blade to allow expansion during baking.
10 - Pour 1 cup hot water into the oven tray to create steam. Bake the bread for 40 minutes, rotating halfway, until golden brown and crusty.
11 - Remove bread from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It's a showstopper loaf that impresses everyone at the table—the spiral reveals itself with each slice like a beautiful secret
  • Building flavor layer by layer means each bite discovers something new, from seeds to cheese to sun-dried tomatoes
  • The long fermentation creates a naturally leavened crumb that's impossibly tender inside with a crackling crust outside
02 -
  • The spinach must be well-drained—I learned this the hard way when excess moisture made my outermost spiral soggy. Pat it dry with paper towels after sautéing
  • Don't skip the slashing step. It looks dramatic, but those cuts control how the bread expands and actually prevent random cracks from forming
  • Sourdough fermentation times vary wildly depending on your kitchen temperature. In winter, it might take 12 hours; in summer, maybe 8. Trust the poke test, not the clock
03 -
  • Score your bread while it's cool enough to handle but still on the baking sheet—this prevents the pan from shifting and disrupting your beautiful spiral pattern
  • If you don't have a kitchen scale, this bread becomes harder to execute successfully since proportions matter so much for the Fibonacci increases. Invest in a simple digital scale—it transforms bread baking
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