Pumpkin Sourdough Recipe 🎃🍞 | Cozy Homemade Fall Bread

 

🎃 Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

This homemade pumpkin sourdough bread is soft, slightly sweet, warmly spiced, and packed with pumpkin flavor. It’s a beautiful fall loaf that pairs perfectly with butter, cream cheese, or your favorite autumn spread.

Ingredients

• 100 g active sourdough starter
• 350 g bread flour
• 100 g pumpkin purée
• 150 g water
• 30 g honey or maple syrup
• 25 g melted butter or olive oil
• 8 g salt
• 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Mix the Dough

In a large bowl, combine the sourdough starter, pumpkin purée, water, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla.

Add the bread flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

2. Add the Butter

Add the melted butter or olive oil and work it into the dough until evenly incorporated.

The dough will feel slightly sticky because of the pumpkin, which is normal.

3. Stretch and Fold

Over the next 2 hours, perform 3–4 sets of stretch-and-folds, approximately every 30 minutes.

To do one fold, grab one side of the dough, gently stretch it upward, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat.

4. Bulk Fermentation

Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature until it becomes noticeably puffy and increases in size by roughly 50–75%.

Depending on your room temperature and starter strength, this can take approximately 4–8 hours.

5. Shape

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Shape it into a round or oval loaf, creating enough surface tension to help it hold its shape.

Place it seam-side up into a floured banneton.

6. Cold Proof

Cover and refrigerate for 8–14 hours.

The cold fermentation develops more flavor and makes the dough easier to score.

7. Bake

Preheat your Dutch oven and oven to 230°C (450°F) for about 30–45 minutes.

Carefully turn the dough onto parchment paper and score the top.

Bake covered for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, reduce the temperature to 210°C (410°F), and bake for another 20–25 minutes, or until the loaf is deeply golden brown.

8. Cool

Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack for at least 1–2 hours before slicing.

This helps the crumb finish setting and prevents the inside from becoming gummy.

🍁 Optional Add-Ins

For an extra-special fall loaf, try adding:

• 75 g chopped pecans or walnuts
• 75 g dried cranberries
• 80 g chocolate chips
• 1–2 tablespoons maple syrup
• A little extra cinnamon

Serving Ideas

Serve slices warm with salted butter, cream cheese, honey, maple butter, or apple butter.

Storage

Keep the cooled loaf in a bread bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also slice and freeze it for longer storage.

Tip: Pumpkin purée adds moisture to sourdough, so avoid adding all the water at once. Hold back a little water and add it gradually depending on how your dough feels.