Who doesn’t love a good pumpkin loaf? This sourdough loaf is long fermented, gut healthy, and packed with fall flavors. The texture is fluffy but still with a little bite to it and perfect to bring to a Thanksgiving get together. This special loaf of bread will be both beautiful and delicious on any dinner table this season.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Pumpkin + Cinnamon Sourdough
This loaf of bread is both delicious and beautiful. A perfect piece to bring to your fall get together this season and especially a Friendsgiving dinner. I like that this loaf looks complicated, but with a couple of meaningful and simple additions, it turns into a statement loaf.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – The sourdough starter is the leavening agent to this loaf of bread. Feed your starter 6 – 8 hours before you want to assemble your dough, and this will ensure your bread rises and ferments appropriately. A great loaf of bread begins with a strong starter.
Flour – AP flour, or all-purpose flour, is really the only flour that I use in any of my recipes. I’ve learned over my years of baking that I don’t always have bread flour, cake flour, or even whole-wheat flour in my pantry – but I do always have AP flour on hand. So, I want to create recipes that anyone can make with what they have on hand without needing to get anything extra from the store.
👩🍳 How to Make Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
In the morning, feed your starter. 6-8 hours later, when your starter has peaked, assemble your dough. Mix together water, starter, and pumpkin purée. Add in flour, sugar and salt until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
After resting, pull the edges of the dough towards the middle until a semi-smooth dough forms. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. Perform 2-4 more stretch and folds every 45 minutes. Cover and leave on the counter to bulk ferment (around 8 hours). In the morning shape your dough. Mix together 2 TBS granulated sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon. During shaping, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar into the middle of the dough. Roll into a ball and place seam-side up into the banneton. Place into the fridge for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat a Dutch oven to 450 degrees. Transfer your dough onto parchment paper, score, and bake with the lid on for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 24 minutes.
Let cool completely before slicing and serving with butter and more cinnamon sugar.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Cinnamon has a chemical agent that breaks down the gluten, so it can create a bit of a mess if you’re not familiar with how it works with the dough. Add the cinnamon sugar during the shaping process and don’t be afraid to let it rest while you shape and roll the dough.
- During the peak baking season, I make a batch of cinnamon sugar and store it in a mason jar to have on hand. To make this, mix together 1 cup of sugar + 3-4 tablespoons of cinnamon.
- Feed your starter a 1:3:3 ratio – 1/3 cup starter + 1 cup flour + 1 cup water.
- Wet your hands when you do your stretch and folds to avoid the dough sticking to your hands.
🗒 Bakers Schedule
In the morning, feed your starter.
In the evening, when your starter has peaked, assemble your dough and perform your stretch and folds.
Overnight, let your dough rest on the counter.
In the morning, divide your dough into two equal pieces, shape your dough, place it in your bannetons and let it rest + bake, or leave it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
🗒 Variations
If you have leftover pumpkin bread, this will work beautifully in a French toast casserole.
To make the pumpkin sourdough loaf into a pumpkin shape, cut 4 strings of butcher’s twine to about 18 inches. Cross them over each other, not too tight, but just so that the string fits around the loaf. Tie them at the top and cut off the access string.
- Pumpkin Sourdough French Toast Casserole
- French Toast Casserole
- Pumpkin Shaped Loaves
🗒 Best Served
- with a smear of butter and more cinnamon sugar
- in a French toast casserole
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store your leftover sourdough bread in a brown paper bag either on the counter or in a bread box. Fresh sourdough bread will stay fresh for only 2 or 3 days.
🤔 Common Questions
The longer the bread stays in the fridge the more sour it will be, ideally it should stay in the fridge no more than 3 days or it will over proof.
To avoid burnt bottoms on your loaf, preheat your Dutch oven on top of a baking stone in the oven. The baking stone prevents the bottom of the bread from getting burnt.
Pumpkin + Cinnamon Sourdough Loaf
Equipment
- kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 80 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 300 grams water
- 150 grams pumpkin puree (about ½ cup)
- 450 grams all-purpose flour
- 75 grams whole-wheat flour
- 2 grams salt
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your starter at a 1:3:3 ratio.
- 6-8 hours later, when your starter has peaked, assemble your dough. Mix together water, starter, and pumpkin purée.
- Add in flour and salt until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
- After resting, pull the edges of the dough towards the middle until a semi-smooth dough forms. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. Perform 2-4 more stretch and folds every 45 minutes. Cover and leave on the counter to bulk ferment (around 8 hours). In the morning shape your dough.
- Mix together 2 TBS granulated sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon.
- During shaping, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar into the middle of the dough.
- Roll into a ball and place seam-side up into the banneton. Place into the fridge for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat a Dutch oven to 450 degrees. Transfer your dough onto parchment paper, score, and bake with the lid on for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 24 minutes.
- Let cool completely before slicing and serving with butter and more cinnamon sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
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I am going to make this recipe but notice that in step 3 it says ” Add in flour, sugar and salt until a shaggy dough forms.” How much sugar am I supposed to add? Is it more than the 2 TBSP? Thanks!
Hi! I’m going to edit it right now, but there is no sugar in the dough. Just as the cinnamon sugar filling.
In step 3 it says to add flour, sugar, and salt……
There is no sugar in the ingredient list other than that used for the cinnamon sugar in step 5. So, I am wondering how much sugar we are suppose to add.
Hi! I’m sorry for the confusion, there is no sugar in the dough. Just in the cinnamon sugar swirl. I’m going to edit it now <3
Yay I cannot wait to try this! One quick question.. is it really only 2 grams of salt? Thank you for this beautiful idea!
It is, in fact, not 2 grams of salt lol. Thank you for bringing this to my attention because I’ll change the recipe now! It is 9 grams of salt <3
What is the best way to cut this once it’s cooled? I’m so excited. Dough was easy to work with and just got mine out of the oven. I’m waiting 15 min to cut the twine. Is that your recommendation?
Is it brown sugar or regular sugar with the cinnamon?
Do you have any tips on shaping? I spread out the dough and sprinkled the cinnamon and sugar and rolled it into a ball but the dough really started to tear and come apart in the process.