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

1221kcal

5 from 1 vote

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Prep 30 minutes mins

Cook 40 minutes mins

Levain Build 8 minutes mins

Total 21 hours hrs

A beautiful, naturally leavened pumpkin sourdough loaf made with a mix of high-protein bread flour, stone-ground whole wheat, pure pumpkin purée, and toasted wheat bran. Built on a long 8–10 hour levain build, structured bulk fermentation with coil folds, and a cold overnight retard for a light, open crumb and deep flavor.

Servings 1 loaf

Cuisine American / Artisanal Sourdough

Ingredients

1x2x3x

Levain / Starter Build (7:00 AM)

• ▢ 5 g Active sourdough starter
• ▢ 35 g Water
• ▢ 30 g All-purpose or Bread flour
• ▢ 5 g Rye flour

Main Dough (5:00 PM)

• ▢ 240 g Bread flour (80%)
• ▢ 60 g Stone-ground whole wheat flour (20%)
• ▢ 216 g Water (72%)
• ▢ 60 g Mature sourdough levain (20%)
• ▢ 60 g Pumpkin purée (20%)
• ▢ 6 g Fine salt (2%)

Shaping & Coating

• ▢ Wheat bran (for dusting and coating the loaf)

Equipment

• ▢
  Digital Kitchen Scale
• ▢
  (optional) Stand Mixer or Spiral Mixer
• ▢
  Round or Oval Proofing Basket (Banneton)
• ▢
  Dutch Oven / Cast Iron Pot
• ▢
  Scoring Lame or Razor Blade
• ▢
  Parchment Paper

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Build the Levain (7:00 AM)

1. Dissolve 5 g sourdough starter in 35 g water. Add 30 g bread/AP flour and 5 g rye flour; mix until smooth.
2. Cover loosely and let ferment at room temperature (74–78°F / 23–26°C) for 8–10 hours until tripled in volume with active bubbles.

Autolyse & Mix Dough (5:00 PM – 6:30 PM)

1. 5:00 PM (Autolyse): Combine 216 g water, 240 g bread flour, and 60 g whole wheat flour. Mix until no dry flour remains, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
2. 6:00 PM: Add 60 g mature levain. Knead on low speed (or using hand methods like Rubaud) for 3–4 minutes. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
3. 6:30 PM: Add 6 g salt and 60 g pumpkin purée. Mix for 3–5 minutes until completely incorporated and smooth.

Bulk Fermentation & Folds (7:00 PM – 10:15 PM)

1. Perform stretches and coil folds to build strength:
2. 7:00 PM: Stretch & Fold #1
3. 7:30 PM: Coil Fold #1
4. 8:15 PM: Coil Fold #2
5. 9:00 PM: Coil Fold #3
6. 9:45 PM: Coil Fold #4
7. Let rest undisturbed at 74–78°F until the dough increases by 50–60% in volume, feeling light and airy with dome-shaped edges.

Preshape, Shape & Cold Proof (10:15 PM – Next Morning)

1. 10:15 PM (Preshape): Turn dough onto a floured surface, fold onto itself, round into a loose boule, and let rest uncovered for 30 minutes.
2. 10:45 PM (Shape): Sprinkle dough with wheat bran. Flip over, fold the sides inward, and roll into a tight batard or boule.
3. Place seam-side up into a proofing basket lined with wheat bran. Rest for 15 minutes at 80°F, then cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for 14–24 hours.

Bake

1. Preheat Dutch oven in the oven at 500°F (260°C) for 45–60 minutes.
2. Flip chilled dough onto parchment paper and score the top with a lame.
3. Load into the hot Dutch oven, cover with the lid, and bake at 500°F for 15 minutes with steam.
4. Remove the lid, reduce temperature to 450°F (232°C), and bake for an additional 20 minutes until deep golden brown.
5. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories1221kcalCarbohydrates249gProtein42gFat6gSaturated Fat1gPolyunsaturated Fat3gMonounsaturated Fat1gSodium2348mgPotassium631mgFiber15gSugar3gVitamin A9349IUVitamin C3mgCalcium87mgIron6mg

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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