Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
It’s fall, the leaves are changing, people are pulling plaid out of the back of their closets. Starbucks line ups are getting longer, and everything.is.pumpkin.
I’m not above admitting that I can get behind a good pumpkin spice craze.
But I like my pumpkin with a side of carbs!
This pumpkin sourdough bread is dedicated to plaid!
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Expert Tips
- New to sourdough? Need a starter? Check out my super easy sourdough starter. It’s ready in 24 hours!
- This recipe is written with a room temperature bulk ferment but this dough can easily be proofed in the fridge to help the baking fit into your schedule.
- Grab a shower cap at the drugstore next time you’re out! I use my polka-dotted shower cap a few times a week while making sourdough. It’s a great, reusable cover for proofing sourdough.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice at home, you can easily substitute that with 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon all spice.
Key Ingredients
Sourdough Starter: use a fed and active 100% hydration starter. The sourdough starter should be very bubbly and risen at least twice its size since feeding.
Pumpkin Puree: can’t have pumpkin spice sourdough bread without the pumpkin! This recipe works using canned pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin puree. If your homemade puree is particularly watery, it would be prudent to drain off some of the liquid. Avoid using pumpkin pie filling.
How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
Start The Dough:
- Combine 100g active starter with 240g water and 200g pumpkin puree, stirring until smooth and mostly combined.
- Add in 500g bread flour, mixing until all the flour is incorporated.Using a danish dough whisk, spatula, or spoon mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated. Cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch And Fold:
- Prior to the first set of stretch and folds, spread the dough in the proofing bowl by poking it down like you're making sourdough focaccia, then sprinkle the sprinkle 10g salt over the surface of the dough.
- Using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 3 more times, this is considered a set of stretch and folds. Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the stretch and fold process once more.
- Prior to the third stretch and fold, whisk togeher 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup dried cranberries and 1 1/2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the dough. Complete 1 last stretch and fold to incorporate the added mixture. Less folding in the sugar mixture will result in pronounced ribbons as pictured above, more folding in will result in a more homogenized dough mixture.
Bulk Ferment + Proof:
- Cover the dough and set it aside to bulk ferment for 10-12 hours, or until it nearly doubles in size. You’ll see in the photos that I use a pot for my bulk ferment. This pot is almost exactly the same size as my 3 qt dutch oven so I love to use it for all my proofing.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it onto a floured surface and pre-shape the loaf into your desired shape, place it seam side down on a piece of parchment paper. Cover and allow to rise for another 60-120 minutes.
Bake:
- While the dough is finishing the final rise, place a cast iron dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat together at 450f.
- Once the oven is heated, score your loaf as desired. Lift with the parchment paper as handles and lower into the preheated dutch oven.
- Bake the pumpkin sourdough at 450f covered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to bake until the crust has darkened, another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the sourdough from the dutch oven and cool on a wire mesh cooling rack until room temperature before slicing.
Baker’s Schedule
Here’s an example of my schedule for baking this irresistible pumpkin sourdough bread!
- Day 1 –>
- 12 pm: Feed my starter room temperature or cooler water. Set aside in a cooler place to activate.
- 7 pm: Mix up the dough for pumpkin sourdough bread.
- 8:30 pm: The stretching and folding process is complete, the sugar, cranberries, and pumpkin pie spice have been incorporated. Cover and set aside to rise for 10-12 hours, or until doubled.
- Day 2 –>
- 8 am: Turn the dough onto a floured surface, form into a boule and place seam side down on a piece of parchment paper. Place the boule into a bowl similar in size to your dutch oven. Cover and rise for 60-120 minutes.
- 9:30 am: Set my favorite small dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
- 10 am: Uncover and carefully score the surface of your boule. Then remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, lower the boule into the dutch oven. Recover then bake as per the recipe.
More Sourdough Recipes To Love
Batch + Storage Information
Batch:
This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of pumpkin sourdough bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with breakfast for at least 2 days.
Storage:
If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower!
Short term sourdough bread storage: Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag once cooled. Your loaf will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Long term Storage: Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze sourdough bread, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.
Recommended Equipment
3 qt cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy ass cast iron dutch oven. It’s one of those things you should already have, and if you don’t have one, fix that! The little red one in these photos was my first piece of cast iron and something that started somewhat of a cooking revolution for us a decade ago.
A 3-quart cast iron dutch ovenis a workhorse in the kitchen, and you’ll find yourself reaching for it often.
Scale: It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. A good kitchen scale will treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough.
📖 Printable Recipe
Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 200 g pumpkin puree
- 240 g room temperature water
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions Start Cooking
- Combine 100g active starter 240g water, and mix until mostly combined. Add in 200g pumpkin puree, stirring until smooth. Add in 500g bread flour, mixing until all the flour is incorporated. Cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle 10g of salt over the sourdough, then perform a series of stretches and folds: with wet hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat 4 times. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold process 3 times total.
- Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup dried cranberries and 1 1/2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the dough. Complete 1 last stretch and fold to incorporate the added mixture. Less folding in the sugar mixture will result in pronounced ribbons as pictured above, more folding in will result in a more homogenized dough mixture.
- Cover the dough and set it aside to bulk ferment for 10-12 hours, or until it doubles.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it onto a floured surface and pre-shape the loaf into your desired shape, place it seam side down on a piece of parchment paper. Cover and allow to rise for another 60-120 minutes.
- While the dough is finishing the final rise, place a cast iron dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat together at 450f.
- Once the oven is heated, score your loaf as desired. Lift with the parchment paper as handles and lower into the preheated dutch oven.
- Bake the pumpkin sourdough at 450f covered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to bake until the crust has darkened, another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the sourdough from the dutch oven and cool on a wire mesh cooling rack until room temperature before slicing.
Video
Notes
BATCH:
This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of pumpkin sourdough bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with breakfast for at least 2 days.STORAGE:
Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag once cooled. Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.baker’s schedule
Here’s an example of my schedule for baking this irresistible pumpkin sourdough bread!- Day 1 –>
12 pm: Feed my starter room temperature or cooler water. Set aside in a cooler place to activate.
7 pm: Mix up the dough for pumpkin sourdough bread.
8:30 pm: The stretching and folding process is complete, the sugar, cranberries, and pumpkin pie spice have been incorporated. Cover and set aside to rise for 10-12 hours, or until doubled. - Day 2 –>
8 am: Turn the dough onto a floured surface, form into a boule and place seam side down on a piece of parchment paper. Place the boule into a bowl similar in size to your dutch oven. Cover and rise for 60-120 minutes.
9:30 pm: Set my favorite small dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
10 am: Uncover and carefully score the surface of your boule. Then remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, lower the boule into the dutch oven. Recover then bake as per the recipe.
Got thrown off schedule and bulk ferment won’t be done until around midnight which means a 2 am bake roughly. Can I shape and put in fridge and bake in the morning or will it be over fermented by then?
Hi Carrie, sorry for the late reply, sourdough is pretty forgiving!
I don’t lose sleep over sourdough, lol, and what I mean by that is if it runs into my sleep schedule, it goes into the fridge to slow down. You can throw it in there at any point in the process, it’s just easier if you do it when it’s already in the banneton 🙂
This recipe came out perfect. I substituted chopped dates for the dried cranberries. It was amazing!
Happy to hear you loved the recipe, April!
Amazing!!! My favorite Sourdough recipe to date! I did increase the cranberries to 1/2 cup, and added 1/3 cup walnuts.
Thanks for sharing. 😋
– Jennifer
Oh love the idea of adding walnuts. I have a chocolate sourdough bread with walnuts and a cranberry walnut sourdough… just in case you get sick of the pumpkin lol
I made a double recipe last week and followed the written recipe that tells you to add the sugar mixture as a last stretch and fold. Everything in me said this will be a syrupy mess after bulk fermentation. I did as it said and in the morning, there was a ton of liquid, but I turned it out and put down some flour because it was too liquidy to hold the shape. This totally helped the shaping and then I just put them in loaf pans and covered with a top loaf pan and it took almost an hour but it was amazing!! I watched your video and you changed the point that you add the sugar mixture, and did it during lamination/shaping stage. I have to say the swirl by doing it at the last stretch and fold made the swirls so pronounced, even though it was a mess during shaping, I am going to do it that way again tonight when I make it again!!! Made French toast with this last weekend and it was so good!!! This recipe is a keeper!!
Can this be made without a Dutch oven? Unfortunately I don’t have one yet.
You could definitely try baking it on a baking stone – I have a guide for baking without a dutch oven!
I have made this twice, the first one was very very subtle flavor which is probably great for some but I tried doubling the sugar mixture & it was FANTASTIC! A mess to shape but I just did my best and plopped it in a banneton for the second rise and into the DO for baking and it turned out great!
Awe! Thanks for the feedback! Thanks for sharing your variation – that’s something I’ll have to try!
I followed the recipe exactly except I left out the cranberries because I was out of them. The bread came out a bit dense, maybe needed to prove longer on second round after shaping. The big problem was it was burned pretty bad. I cooked at 450 after reading some other reviews and I did the shorter period after removing lid. I wish I would have just taken it out after the first hr. I may try one more time but this is a lot of time and work
Hey Kate, sorry to hear it burned, I’d like to help solve that – I’m curious on the bake time you use because in your comment you said taken it out after the first hour? This recipe needs a 30 minute covered bake and then 15-20 uncovered. How are you baking? In a dutch oven? Where is the dutch oven in relation to your oven? Do other sourdough breads burn at these temps?
Its definitely possible that the bread could have used a bit longer in the proofing stage, it’s so hard to write a recipe that works for every kitchen, so please consider my timings a suggestion rather than a hard rule.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve made it multiple times in the last few weeks, sometimes with a little less sugar and no fruit for a less sweet loaf, sometimes with nuts added, and today with fresh whole cranberries and dried barberries. I always add a bit of powdered whole milk to the mix, and every version I’ve made has been delicious! I hope I’m not jinxing myself here, but this is a no-fail loaf! I love it. Thank you.
That’s so great to hear, love the variations! Thanks for sharing, Beth.
This turned out so good! I gave it a pumpkin shape too. It maintained a soft texture and the flavor was amazing! I will be making many more of these. 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it! I love this recipe too!
I made this bread yesterday. I used 00 flour from Italy and it worked great. I also substituted walnuts for cranberries and truvia brown sugar to decrease the sugar. It tasted Amazing. I made them look like pumpkins. 4* instead of 5 bc it had very little pumpkin flavor. Don’t see a place to share pix.
Hi Amy, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe – sorry you didn’t find quite as much pumpkin flavor as you expected. If you’d like to share pics, and I’d love to see, you can tag me on instagram @cravethegood <3
I’ve made this twice now using the directions exactly as listed. It’s really easy to make and turned out delicious both times. It’s definitely part of my fall bread making now.
So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!! It is a favorite of mine too!
Literally 10/10 experience with the dough recipe but I agree with everyone else and wish I listened, 475 was insanely hot and scorched the top and bottom of my poor loaf. Gonna have to cut the whole bottom off. I know the flavor is gonna be great though
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, sad that it got burnt. I am going to adjust the recipe – cause all of my others are at 450, I am not sure why I bake this one at 475!
I just made this. I lowered the temp to 450 for 30 min with lid on and then lid off for 15 but it come out burnt on the bottom and doughy in the middle. How do I fix?
Hey Sheena, if you find your dough burning on the bottom, you can try to put a cookie sheet on the rack beneath your dutch oven. It should have been cooked after all that time in the oven though? My guess is under fermented!
I just cut into this loaf, and my 3 girls and I literally have eaten 3/4 of it already🤣
Mine got a little too dark on top in those last 15 minutes but that was totally my fault, I know my oven runs hot most of the time. This recipe is definitely a keeper at our house!!
Oh my gosh! I love that! Thank you for sharing <3
I’m brand new to sourdough and I did everything as it was written but somehow during my proffing there’s no change in 4.5 hrs except that now there is water so I’m not sure how to fix it or what I didn’t wrong or if it normal, help please!
Hey Shannon, when adding sugar swirl, sometimes the sugar dissolves and makes water at the bottom of your fermenting bowl.
When you say that there’s no change, do you mean in volume? How does the dough look? Did the texture improve during the stretch and folds? Was the starter at its peak when you used it in the recipe?