Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread is a craft I have been wanting to perfect for a long time! This past January we went through a snowstorm that had us trapped for days. It snowed 12" inches which is a lot for us in East Tennessee and I got inspired to make sourdough bread! During the past 10 months, I've been working to perfect every aspect of the process to share with you! Whether you're a beginner or an expert, this Pumpkin Sourdough Bread is a must try.

How do I keep my starter alive?

I'm going to be honest here.. The starter takes a little T.L.C (tender loving care). It's 7-10 days of daily feeding to get it "useable" for bread and then daily feeding after that if you'd like to continue making sourdough recipes. Note: Warmer homes may require more frequent feedings of every 12 hours.

How I feed my starter:

I gather 30g of starter from my jar and discard the rest. Sometime's we'll use the discard for other recipes ;). Then, I mix together the ingredients below and place them back into my jar.

• 30g of starter
• 125g of purified water
• 140g of bread flour

But wait! There's options.. Traveling out of town? Don't have anyone to babysit your starter? Need a break from Sourdough? Here's what you do:

Place your sourdough in the fridge! It's that easy, but DO NOT leave it in the fridge for more than 2 months. It'll need feeding before then to keep it alive. Once you're ready to use it again, simply take it out of the fridge, let it rest for a couple hours and start your feeding process again. (Tim's Tip : Feed at least 4 times before making bread).

Wait! Who is Sheila?

My wife has this running joke, "You love Sheila more than me!" Everyone, meet Sheila...my starter. My starter has nothing on my wife, Jacque, who is the absolute love of my life. But it's fun to joke about. Whatever you name your starter, take care of it like family and it'll take care of you!

Now, enough about my personal life with Sheila and Jacque - let's get into the details about making pumpkin sourdough bread. 

Why Pumpkin?

Why not? It's fall ya'll! This is the time to play around with flavors of the season. I'm no professional bread baker, but I do appreciate the craft and wanted to do it justice! I enjoy playing with savory flavors AND sweet. Here's what I learned.

For my first loaf, I added brown sugar to it. I was not a fan of the sweetness in the bread. It was much better when added post baking. I added the sweetness later with a sweet butter spread and it was perfection!

More Fall Recipe Ideas:

• Corn Casserole
• Easy Tomato Basil Crock Pot Soup
• Cabbage Soup
• Hearty and Delicious Vegetable Soup
• Creamed Spinach
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• No Bake Banana Pudding
• Pumpkin Roll Recipe
• Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
• Potato Soup

What are the "must haves" on your menus for Fall? Let me know in the comments! I love gathering ideas from fellow cooks!

Helpful Tools for this Recipe

• Dough Scorer
• Dough Scraper - I also use this with EVERY recipe for easy clean up. It's a must have!
• Measuring Cup
• Cambro for Dough Proofing - also great with storing food or brining meats
• Bread Flour - People mess this part up all the time! Make sure you're using Unbleached Bread Flour for the best results.
• Banneton Bread Baskets - Set of 2 is best! It's much easier to make two loaves than one.
• Scale - Can't make bread without it. It's a life saver!

What Ingredients you'll need for Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

*This recipe makes 2 loaves*

• 375 g Water (Purified)
• 24 g Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
• 180-190 g Sourdough starter
• 180-190 g Pumpkin puree
• 700 g Unbleached Flour
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil (to coat cambro container)
• 2 tablespoon Rice Flour (for coating the bread basket)

Detailed Instructions for Bread

Making the Dough Ball

Step 1 : Feed your starter and only use it when it's at its peak rise. To feed, combine 30g of Starter, 125g of Purified Water and 140g of Bread Flour (unbleached). Depending on the humidity in your area...it could take anywhere from 4-8 hours for the starter to reach its bulk fermentation. It took my starter 7 hours.

Step 2 : Once starter is ready, gather remaining ingredients. In a large bowl measure out the following ingredients, zeroing out your scale in-between each measurement to get it exact.

• Add in 375g of water and 24g of salt. Mix well.
• Add in 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice and 180g of pumpkin puree. Mix well.
• Add in 180g of starter. Mix well. You want the starter as dissolved as possible.
• Last, add in bread flour and mix well. Don't rush this process. It'll take time but it'll be worth it! I start with a rubber spatula and then use my hands make a dough ball. If it's a lumpy hot mess, it's OKAY! It'll come together and smooth out in the following steps.

Step 3 : Cover dough ball and set aside for 30 minutes. Next, we'll start the stretch and folding process.

4 Stretch and Folds

Step 4 : Wet your hands with water to handle the dough easier. Remove dough from bowl and lightly pull/stretch it and then fold it back onto itself repeatedly. I stretch and fold 4-6 times. Be sure not to over stretch and rip the forming fibers. Place back into the covered bowl and let it sit for another 30 minutes at room temp.

Step 5 : Repeat the stretch and fold process again for a second time. Place back in the covered bowl for 30 minutes. Repeat that stretch and fold another 2 times with 30 minutes of rest in between. This will make a total of 4 stretch and fold steps.

Bulking Phase

Step 6 : After the 4th Stretch and Fold, place the dough into your cambro. Coat it with a small amount of olive oil to easily remove dough after bulking. By using the cambro, it makes it easier to measure the rise of your dough. We're looking for the dough to double in size. This can take 3-5 hours.

Shaping the Dough

Step 7 : Once it's doubled, flour your surface and remove dough from cambro. Cut the dough in ½ with your bread scraper. Do the following steps to each loaf separately.

Step 8 : Fold the ends of your dough into the center of dough. Then, in the middle of dough, do a series of 4 cross folds and then pinch secure. You should be seeing air pockets during these folds.

Step 9 : Then, fold over the edges of the dough again and roll it into a ball shape.

Step 10 : Cupping your hands, pull the dough towards you slowly to pull in and down so that the dough tightens up. Cover dough and then let it rest for 30 minutes.

Step 11 : Repeat steps 8, 9 and 10 but don't let rest for another 30 minutes. Coat your bread baskets with rice flour. Place your bread dough upside down in the basket and flour the "bottom" of the bread dough. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 18-24 hours.

Baking

Step 12 : Preheat oven to 500°F. Place your Dutch ovens (with lids) in for a total of one hour to them heat up. Note : if you don't have a lid, use a cast iron skillet as a lid or aluminum foil.

Step 13 : Remove dough from the refrigerator. Replace plastic wrap with a piece of parchment paper just big enough to cover bottom of dough. Flip dough out of basket and onto parchment paper. Using your bread scorer, make one long score on top of the dough.

Step 14 : Place dough in the Dutch ovens (leave dough on parchment paper), cover and bake for 26 minutes. Then, remove lid and bake another 14 minutes. Remove immediately from dutch oven and let rest for one hour before you cut into the bread. 

Very key or important to remember is let the bread rest or you risk the bread becoming doughy. 

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Recipe

*This post may contain affiliate link(s), so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support and understanding.