Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Fall is my favorite time of the year, and the main reason for it is because it’s a pumpkin season and i can make my favorite pumpkin sourdough bread. It brings so much comfort and brightens up my day with a beautiful orange color. And of course it’s super soft and flavorful!

Ingredients

Sourdough starter 

• 5g sourdough starter
• 35g water
• 30g all purpose flour or bread flour 
• 5g rye flour 

Dough

• 240g bread flour (80%)
• 60g stone ground whole wheat flour (20%)
• 216g water (72%)
• 60g levain (20%)
• 60g pumpkin pure (20%)
• 6g salt (2%)
• Wheat bran (for dusting)

Directions 

Starter

• 7 am add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at a room temp 74-78F for about 8-10 hours until starter reaches its peak (at least triples in volume).
• Learn how to make starter from scratch here.

Dough

• 5 pm mix water with flour and cover, let it rest 1 hour for autolyse.
• During the autolyse the flour absorbs the water, becoming fully hydrated. This will activate gluten development.
• 6 pm add sourdough starter. 
• Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 min, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 min until well incorporated. Or use rubaud method to mix the dough by hands for 3-4 minutes until we’ll incorporated.
• Cover, let rest for 30 min.
• 6:30 pm add salt and pumpkin pure. 
• Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 min, or with KitchenAid on speed 3 for 5-6 min until well incorporated. 
• If mixing by hand with Rubaud method, then mix the dough until all pumpkin purée and salt will be fully incorporated ( about 3-5 min).
• We will continue gluten development and structure building by performing stretches and folds during the warm fermentation period.

• Leave to rest 30 min. At 74-78F /23-26C.
• 7 pm wet your hands and perform nice stretch and fold. 
• 7:30pm 1st coil  fold.
• 8:15 pm 2nd coil fold.
• 9:00 pm 3rd coil fold.
• 9.45 pm 4th coil fold 
• Performing stretches and folds will help with gluten development.

• Keep monitoring the dough, if it rises too fast, you can shorten the time between stretches to 40 minutes or less.
• After the final stretch let the dough proof for 30 minutes at 76-80F/ 23-26C. You should see some bubbles on the surface, the dough has to become lighter. We are looking for 50%-60% rise. If your dough didn’t reach 50% rise mark, add 1 extra stretch, it will extend time of warm fermentation, but will give you great result 

Preshaping sourdough 

• 10:15 pm Transfer the dough on to a work surface and dust its top with flour. Flip the dough over so the floured sides face down. 
• Fold the dough onto itself so the flour on the surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf. This will become the crust. 
• Place the dough round on a work surface and let it rest for 30 minutes uncovered. 

Shaping sourdough 

• 10:45 pm Dust the dough with wheat bran. Use a dough scraper to flip it over on to a work surface so the floured sides face down.
• Starting at the side closest to you, pull the right 2 corners of the dough to the left, then fold them up into half of the dough. Repeat this action on the left side too.
• Finally, roll the dough. Shape it into a smooth, taut roll.
• Transfer the roll, seam side up, to a prepared proofing basket (loaf pan with kitchen towel)
• Cover it with plastic and return the dough to the 80F (27C) environment for 15 minutes.
• Then transfer the dough to rise for 14-24 hours in the refrigerator.

Baking

Next morning

• Preheat your oven to 500 F, place a cast iron pan with the lid inside for 45 min -1 hour.
• Remove the dough from the fridge. 
• Flip it over on a parchment paper, score it with a sharp knife or a scoring lame. 
• Transfer on to the hot cast iron pan, cover with the lid (to create steam for a beautiful and crusty crumb).
• Bake at 500F for 15 min with lid on.
• Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 450F. 
• Bake for 20 more minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

1923kcal

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Prep 35 minutes mins

Cook 40 minutes mins

Total 21 hours hrs

This beautiful, festive artisan loaf infuses real pumpkin purée directly into the dough matrix for a vibrant orange color and an incredibly moist crumb. Perfectly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, it can be tied with baker’s twine before baking to create a stunning, picture-perfect pumpkin shape.

Servings 1 loaf

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1x2x3x

The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)

• ▢ 10 g Sourdough starter culture
• ▢ 45 g Water
• ▢ 45 g Bread flour

The Vibrant Spiced Main Dough

• ▢ 400 g Bread flour (90%)
• ▢ 50 g Whole wheat flour (10%)
• ▢ 210 g Water (46% – Warmed slightly to roughly 78°F/25°C)
• ▢ 150 g 100% Pure pumpkin purée (33% – Canned or smooth homemade, not pumpkin pie mix)
• ▢ 100 g Active liquid levain (22% – From the stage above)
• ▢ 20 g Brown sugar or honey (4%)
• ▢ 9 g Fine sea salt (2%)
• ▢ 3 g Pumpkin pie spice (0.6% – Or a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)

Equipment

• ▢
  Large Mixing Bowl
• ▢
  Proofing Basket (Banneton) or a bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel
• ▢
  Dough Scraper & Bench Knife
• ▢
  Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• ▢
  Sharp Bread Lame or razor blade
• ▢
  Baker’s Twine / Kitchen String (Strictly optional, used for tying the pumpkin shape)
• ▢
  Parchment Paper
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Night Before – Levain Setup

1. 10:00 PM: In a clean glass jar, dissolve your 10g of starter culture into 45g of water. Stir in 45g of bread flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it completely triples in volume and develops a bubbly surface.

Day 2 – The Pumpkin Autolyse & Layered Bulk Folds

1. 8:00 AM – The Autolyse: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 400g of bread flour, 50g of whole wheat flour, and 3g of pumpkin pie spice. In a separate cup, whisk the 210g of water, 150g of pure pumpkin purée, and 20g of brown sugar together until completely smooth. Pour the wet pumpkin mixture into the dry flour mix and stir with a silicone spatula until a thick, bright orange, shaggy mass forms. Cover and let autolyse undisturbed for 45 minutes to fully hydrate.
2. 8:45 AM: Pour all 100g of your active overnight levain over the rested pumpkin dough. Use your fingers to dimple and squeeze the levain deep into the matrix until fully incorporated. Let rest for 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the 9g of fine sea salt evenly over the surface. Pinch and knead the dough firmly for 3 to 5 minutes until the salt crystals fully dissolve and the dough gathers into a cohesive, soft ball.
4. Cover the bowl and let bulk ferment for 4 hours at a warm 78–82°F (25–28°C).
5. During the first 2 hours of bulk fermentation, perform 4 separate rounds of structural stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes. Wet your hands, lift the edges of the orange dough up high, and fold them cleanly over the center to build a strong gluten web. Let the dough rest completely undisturbed for the remaining 2 hours of the bulk proof until it feels light and airy.

Shaping, Twine Tying, and High-Heat Steam Bake

1. 1:00 PM – Shaping & Cold Retard: Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured workspace. Gently pull the outer edges inward toward the center to shape it into a round boule, flip it over so the smooth side faces up, and roll it firmly under your hands to build a tight outer skin.
2. Place the shaped boule seam-side up into a proofing basket dusted heavily with rice flour. Cover loosely and slide it into the refrigerator for a 5 to 12-hour cold retard to firm up.
3. 5:30 PM: Position your heavy Dutch oven on the middle rack of your oven and preheat to 450°F (232°C) for at least 45 minutes.
4. The Pumpkin-Shape Tying Hack (Optional): Cut 4 equal lengths of baker’s twine (about 24 inches each). Lay them across your counter in a star pattern, overlapping at the exact center point. Turn your chilled dough boule out directly onto the center of the strings. Bring the opposite ends of each string up over the loaf and tie them together loosely at the top center. Critical Note: Do not tie the strings tightly; leave them slightly loose so the dough has room to expand and burst outward around the string lines in the oven.
5. Use a sharp razor blade or lame to score decorative leaf or vine patterns onto the exposed skin sections between the strings.
6. Transfer the tied loaf carefully into the roaring hot Dutch oven. Drop the heavy lid on tightly to trap the steam and bake covered at 450°F (232°C) for exactly 20 minutes.
7. Carefully lift the lid off, lower the oven temperature to 425°F (218°C), and continue baking bare for an additional 20 minutes until the pumpkin segments turn a gorgeous, blistered deep gold color.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before carefully snipping and pulling the baker’s twine away. Push a cinnamon stick or a real pumpkin stem into the top center hole for a perfect finish! Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories1923kcalCarbohydrates395gProtein62gFat9gSaturated Fat2gPolyunsaturated Fat4gMonounsaturated Fat1gSodium3526mgPotassium983mgFiber21gSugar26gVitamin A23366IUVitamin C7mgCalcium170mgIron9mg

Notes

• Why Pumpkin Purée Requires Less Water: Beginners often make the mistake of adding pumpkin purée into a standard sourdough recipe without adjusting the baseline liquids. Pumpkin purée is made up of roughly 90% water weight; because of this, the liquid water in this master formula is dropped down to 46% to ensure your dough stays strong, manageable, and holds a proud, high-rising shape in the oven.
• The Non-Negotiable Tying Rule: When executing the decorative twine-tying step, ensure you leave a comfortable amount of slack in the strings. If you tie the kitchen twine tightly against the cold dough, it will slice completely through the delicate skin during the explosive oven spring, ruining your decorative segments and resulting in a messy, deflated bake.
• Managing Stickiness From Simple Gums: Pumpkin flesh contains natural complex starches and soluble fibers that can make the dough feel notably stickier and softer during hand-kneading than standard white flour bakes. Do not worry or try to fix this by continuously dusting in extra raw flour. Trust the 4 structural stretch-and-fold rounds—the gluten chains will steadily organize and clear your hands cleanly.
• Baking without Twine Strings: If you don’t care for the geometric pumpkin shape and prefer a traditional artisan aesthetic, you can safely skip the string step entirely. Simply turn the cold dough boule out straight onto a sheet of parchment paper, use your lame to slash one deep, curved crescent line across the top crown to secure a proud ear, and drop it straight into your preheated Dutch oven.

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