Pumpkin Sourdough
A soft pumpkin sourdough bread swirled with cinnamon pecan filling, naturally sweetened with pumpkin and brown sugar. This sourdough pumpkin loaf can be shaped like a pumpkin for fall, or left as a simple round.
Servings: 1 loaf
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Sourdough
- 100 grams active sourdough starter at or near peak
- 225 grams water room temperature
- 175 grams pumpkin puree
- 55 grams light or dark brown sugar
- 500 grams bread flour
- 10 grams salt
For the Cinnamon Pecan filling
- 75 grams brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 10 grams all-purpose flour
- 25 to 30 grams pecans very finely chopped
For Shaping, optional
- 4 pieces 100% cotton kitchen twine
- Neutral cooking oil for coating the twine
- Cinnamon stick optional for the stem
Instructions
Feed the Starter
- Several hours before making the dough, feed your starter so you have at least 100 grams of active starter for the recipe, plus a little left over to maintain it. For example, combine 25 grams starter, 50 grams water, and 50 grams bread flour. Stir, mark the level on the jar, and leave it at room temperature.
- Let the starter rise until it has at least doubled and is bubbly and puffy, about 4 to 8 hours depending on your kitchen. Measure out 100 grams of active starter for the dough. Keep the rest to feed for your next bake.
Make the pumpkin sourdough dough
- Add the active sourdough starter, water, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
- Addd the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains.
- =Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle the salt over the dough. Pinch and fold the dough until the salt is incorporated.
- Cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold
- Perform the first set of stretch and folds. Grab one side of the dough, gently stretch it upward, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat until all four sides have been folded.
- Repeat the stretch and folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch-and-fold process two more times, resting 30 minutes between each set, for a total of 3 sets.
Bulk fermentation
- Cover the bowl and let the dough ferment until it has increased approximately 50 to 75 percent in volume. The dough should look puffier, have some visible bubbles, and jiggle slightly when the bowl is moved. Do not wait for the dough to fully double.
Make the cinnamon pecan filling
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour.
- Finely Chop the pecans so the pieces do not tear through the dough during shaping.
Fill and shape the dough
- Gently turn the fermented dough onto a clean work surface. Do not punch the dough down.
- Carefully stretch the dough into a rectangle. Avoid stretching the dough extremely thin.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving approximately a 1-inch border around the edges.
- Sprinkle the finely chopped pecans evenly over the cinnamon filling.
- Fold one-third of the dough toward the center. Fold the opposite third over the first fold. Gently fold or roll the dough into a compact package without pulling tightly enough to tear the surface.
- Allow the dough to rest on the work surface for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Gently shape the dough into a round boule, creating enough surface tension for the dough to hold its shape without aggressively tightening it.
Cold proof
- Place the dough seam-side up in a well-floured banneton.
- Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 14 hours.
Shape the loaf like a pumpkin, optional
- The next day, preheat the oven to 450°F with the Dutch oven inside for about 45 minutes.
- Cut 4 long pieces of 100% cotton kitchen twine. Lightly coat each piece with neutral cooking oil to prevent sticking.
- Remove the dough directly from the refrigerator and turn it onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Position the 4 pieces of twine around the loaf so they divide the bread into 8 sections. Tie the twine very loosely. The twine should only lightly touch the surface of the dough. The loaf will expand against the twine during baking to form the pumpkin ridges.
- Make a small, shallow X in the center of the loaf to allow for expansion. Lightly dust the surface with rice flour just before scoring for a brighter contrast on the scored lines. Decorative leaf scoring can also be added to the individual pumpkin sections, if desired.
Bake
- If you skipped the pumpkin shaping, preheat the oven to 450°F with the Dutch oven inside for 45 minutes before baking.
- Remove the lid and reduce the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is deeply browned and the internal temperature reaches approximately 205 to 210°F.
- Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing, preferably for at least 2 to 3 hours.
- For pumpkin shaping - carefully snip and remove the kitchen twine. Insert a cinnamon stick into the center of the loaf for a pumpkin stem, if desired.
Notes
- Feed the starter 4 to 8 hours before mixing until it is bubbly and active.
- Measure by weight. Cups are not accurate enough for sourdough.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- This dough is softer than a classic loaf. Keep some water back if it feels loose.
- Finely chop the pecans so they do not tear the dough.
- Shape gently after adding the filling. Do not over-tighten.
- Watch the dough, not the clock. Wait for the puffy, jiggly 50 to 75 percent rise.
- Dust with rice flour just before scoring for a brighter contrast.
- Tie the twine loosely so the loaf can expand into clean sections.
- Cool at least 2 hours before slicing or the crumb will be gummy.
