Pumpkin Sourdough Doughnuts

I hope you feel the same way about Fall that I do. This season brings us bright and hearty colors as well as delicious ingredients to bake with. It makes me want to bake and add more pumpkin to everything. That’s why pumpkin sourdough doughnuts were on my list.

Soft, moist and delicious.

Ingredients

Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter 

• 5g sourdough starter
• 30g water
• 5g sugar
• 60g bread flour

Dough

• 280g bread flour (100%)
• 60g stiff starter (23%)
• 75g milk (27%)
• 125g pumpkin pure (45%)
• 50g eggs (18%)
• 55g soft butter (20%)
• 30g sugar (11%)
• 5g salt (1.8%)
• 0.5g yeast (optional) to reduce sourness 
• 1tsp pumpkin spice ( or 1/2tsp cinnamon , 1/4 tsp nutmeg , 1/4 tsp ginger spice) optional

Maple Syrup Cinnamon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tbs maple syrup 
• 1-2 tbs millk

Directions 

Day 1

Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter 

• 10 pm add sugar to the water and whisk together until dissolved, add sourdough starter and flour, mix well, form a ball, place in a jar, cover with lid, let it sit at room temperature 74-78F until it increases in volume.
• In about 8-10 hours sweet stiff starter should double or more in volume.

Day 2

Dough

• 8 am mix starter, milk, pumpkin purée, egg, flour, sugar (let it autolyse for 30 minutes).

• During the autolyse period the flour becomes fully hydrated. This activates gluten development.
• 8.30 am mix the dough on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated.
• Add salt and mix for a couple more minutes. The dough should form a ball.
• Add soft butter, increase the speed, mix for 10-15 minutes until the dough comes up together. 
• 9 am cover and let it proof for 3- 4 hours at 76-80F/ 24-28C.

• During that time perform 2 stretches and folds.
• The dough should become slightly puffy.

• 12 pm transfer the dough to the fridge for cold fermentation for 8-10 hours.
• 10 pm remove the dough from the fridge.

• Roll the cold dough on the floured surface about 1 and 1/2 inches thick.
• Cut the doughnuts with ring mold or regular glass.
• Transfer each doughnut on single piece of parchment paper, this will help with transferring the proofed product later into the pot with oil.
• Cover the doughnuts, let them proof overnight on the countertop. Temperature should be 72-73F. 
• Next morning they should increase in size and become puffy.

Note : if it’s hot in your kitchen, better to put doughnuts in the fridge overnight, and make them proof next morning for 2-3 hours at 78-82F until they will become puffy and light.

Day 3

Morning

• If the doughnuts were proofing at room temperature, now they should be ready to be deep fried.
• Preheat the oil for about 30 minutes, and fry the doughnuts for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

• Then dip them into the glaze, or ice them the way you like them.

Enjoy your pumpkin sourdough doughnuts.