This crusty loaf takes some time and effort, but it’s well worth it! You’ll need two days to prep this bread, including time for the dough to rest and develop some flavor before baking. The earthiness of the pumpkin purée pairs perfectly with tangy sourdough. It also adds moisture and softness to the crumb. This bread is sweet but not overly so. Baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger impart warmth. It pairs perfectly with soups like Butternut Squash Soup or Carrot Ginger Soup. It’s also delicious with a simple pat of butter. Leftovers make for the most wonderful French toast or bread pudding.
The Sourdough Starter
Sourdough is fermented dough, which can be used to make bread in lieu of commercial yeast. It’s a simple mix of flour and water that ferments over time to develop a symbiotic culture of wild yeast and bacteria. When this culture is nurtured through regular feeding (adding flour and water) it becomes a “starter” that can be used to make bread rise. For this recipe, the key is to use a mature active sourdough starter. This means the starter should be at its peak, 4 to 6 hours after feeding it. This is when the starter is at its highest point (double or triple in volume) before the yeast starts to die off.
Folding the Dough
In addition to flavor, the pumpkin purée adds moisture to the bread. It keeps the bread tender and tasting fresher for longer. It also means your dough will feel wet and sticky. The key to working with wet dough is to be gentle with it while folding and shaping it. Instead of kneading the dough, for this recipe I use the coil folding method. Coil folding is a gentle way of stretching the dough to develop structure (it’s what allows the bread to keep its shape as it rises before and during baking). The dough is gently lifted with your hands, allowing gravity to pull some of the dough downward, stretching it. The dough folds over itself in a coil-like pattern. This is considered one coil fold. After each coil fold, turn the dough 90 degrees to perform another coil fold. You’ll want to complete three to five coil folds to adequately build strength into your dough. The dough rests for 30 minutes between each coil fold to help with gluten development and to make it easier to handle. If the dough feels too sticky, wet your hands with a little water.
What is a Banneton?
You’ll need a circular proofing basket called a banneton to shape your dough into a boule (a round-shaped loaf). A proofing basket helps the dough maintain its shape by giving it structure, allowing it to rise upward instead of spreading outward. A banneton is a proofing basket made from natural materials like rattan or coiled wicker. These materials help wick away moisture from the dough, making it less sticky and easier to work with. In a pinch you can use a medium mixing bowl (about 8 inches in diameter) lined with a clean tea towel that has been dusted with a little bit of flour to prevent the dough from sticking. All-purpose would work fine, but a non-gluten flour such as rice flour, cornmeal, or semolina is preferable since they won’t dissolved into the dough.
Baking the Bread
To bake the bread, you’ll need a lidded Dutch oven. The dough releases steam as it bakes, which gets trapped inside the Dutch oven. This steam will keep the crust soft and help the dough rise in the oven. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can bake the bread on a baking sheet. During the first half of your bake, you’ll set a cake pan filled with water on the rack beneath the baking sheet to help create some steam in the oven.
How to Create the Pumpkin Shape
Form the dough into the shape of a pumpkin right before it goes into the oven. Decorating the loaf to look like a pumpkin couldn’t be simpler. You’ll need butcher’s twine or any string that can withstand high oven temperatures. Coat the twine with oil to ensure it doesn’t stick to the loaf as it bakes. Then, wrap it around the dough to mimic the vertical lines that run along the side of a pumpkin. Tie it tightly so that it stays in place. Show off your artistic flair by scoring the top of the dough with fun designs to make it look even more like a pumpkin. The slashes will also allow steam to escape from the dough while it bakes. Sourdough bread is usually scored using a lame, a tool that safely holds a sharp razor blade at the end. If you don’t have a lame, use a sharp paring knife. You can dust your loaf with flour to make your designs stand out even more. As the loaf bakes and expands, it will take on the shape of a pumpkin.
Ways to Season and Adapt Pumpkin Sourdough
This pumpkin-shaped sourdough recipe leans on the sweeter side, but you can make it savory or include mix-ins. Here are a few ideas:
Cranberry and walnutsRoasted garlic and thymeSage and onionTurmeric and chiliDried apricots and pumpkin seeds
Serving Suggestions
This bread is great with both sweet and savory toppings—serve it alongside a harvest-themed board filled with cheeses, nuts, dried fruits, and jams. It’s also great for dipping into soups and leftovers make delicious French toast.
Storage Instructions
Store your bread in a zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. Here are instructions on how to freeze bread.
More Treats to Bake with Pumpkin Purée
Pumpkin Bread Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping Pumpkin Cookies Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake
For this recipe, use a mature active sourdough starter. This means the starter should be at its peak, 4 to 6 hours after feeding it. This is when the starter is at its highest point (double or triple in volume) before the yeast starts to die off.
2 2/3 cups (320g) bread flour, divided
2/3 cup (80g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (6g) salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113g) active sourdough starter
1 1/4 cups (282g) water
1/3 cup (75g) canned pumpkin purée
For shaping and decorating the loaf
2 tablespoons rice flour or cornmeal
2 tablespoons grapeseed or any neutral oil, plus more for oiling the bowl
1 stick cinnamon stick
Repeat with the remaining pumpkin purée, a third of it at a time until fully incorporated. If the dough is too wet (it sticks to the bowl and your fingers making it impossible to work with), add more flour, one tablespoon at a time up to 1/3 cup (40g), mixing it in well with each addition. The dough should be wet, but not so sticky that it’s hard to work with. Allow gravity to pull some of the dough downward, stretching it. Lower the dough onto itself to create a coil-like pattern, then turn the dough 90 degrees. This is considered one coil fold. Do four or five coil folds then cover the bowl with plastic wrap to rest the dough for 30 minutes. Repeat these series of coil folds and rests until the dough looks smooth, feels airy, and is slightly tacky (not overly sticky). Pick up the side of the dough furthest away from you towards the center of the dough and then flip the dough over so that the seam is now on the bottom. Use your hands to lightly tuck the outer edges of the dough under itself. This will create tension on the surface of the dough. Transfer the dough into the prepared banneton seam-side up. Lightly cover the dough with the hanging sides of the tea towel. If your Dutch oven has a lid with a black knob, wrap some aluminum foil around it since it may not withstand the hot oven. Cut four 24-inch pieces of butcher’s twine. Fill a small bowl with grapeseed oil (or any neutral flavored oil). Dunk the twine into the bowl to coat them with oil. Bring the twine up toward the top of the dough and tie them together. Snip off any excess twine. The pattern should look like the same crisscross pattern you created on the bottom. If you’re a confident bread baker, use a sharp knife or a bread lame to score the dough between each section by making a few shallow cuts on the surface to make the pumpkin bread even more decorative. This is totally optional but feel free to have fun and be creative with your patterns. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes. Remove the lid off the Dutch oven and bake the loaf for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the crust has browned to your liking. Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours.
