Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough Bread with Pumpkin Spice
This Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough Bread is soft and crusty with warm pumpkin pie spice swirled throughout. Made with real pumpkin puree and shaped like a pumpkin, it’s a fun and festive loaf that’s perfect for fall.
Servings 12 slices
Calories 172kcal
Equipment
- Straight-sided container (optional)
- Proofing basket or bowl lined with tea towel
- Bread sling or parchment paper
- Lame or sharp knife
Ingredients
Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
- 1 cup (240 grams) pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (210 grams) water
- ½ cup (100 grams) active sourdough starter
- ¼ cup (50 grams) brown sugar
- 4 cups (480 grams) bread flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons (10 grams) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt reduce to 1 ¾ teaspoons if using Morton's brand or table salt
Pumpkin Spice Filling
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose or bread flour
- Rice flour for proofing basket
- 2 ice cubes for steam
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter 6–12 hours before you plan to mix the dough. It should be bubbly, active, and at or near its peak when you’re ready to use it. In a cooler kitchen (60–65°F), this may take closer to 12 hours, while a warmer kitchen (around 75°F) may take about 6 hours.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, water, sourdough starter, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the bread flour and kosher salt and mix by hand until a sticky dough forms and no dry flour remains. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.1 cup (240 grams) pumpkin puree, ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (210 grams) water, ½ cup (100 grams) active sourdough starter, 4 cups (480 grams) bread flour, 3 ½ teaspoons (10 grams) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- Lightly wet your hands. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Repeat this process 3 more times, resting the dough for 15 minutes between each round, for a total of 4 rounds of stretch and folds.
- Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it looks puffy, has bubbles throughout, and has increased noticeably in volume. This can take anywhere from 4–12+ hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your starter.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and flour. Set aside.2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 tablespoon all-purpose or bread flour
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently stretch it into a large rectangle. Sprinkle the pumpkin spice mixture evenly over the surface. Fold one short side toward the center, then fold the opposite short side over it, like folding a letter. Fold the two long sides toward the center in the same way. Flip the dough seam-side down. Using your hands or a bench scraper, gently pull the dough toward yourself across the work surface to create surface tension and shape it into a smooth, tight ball.
- Lightly dust a proofing basket with rice flour. You can also use a bowl lined with a clean tea towel. Transfer the dough to the basket seam-side up, pinching the seam closed if needed. Cover and refrigerate for 12–16 hours.Rice flour
- Place a lidded Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 450°F. Once the oven reaches temperature, let the Dutch oven continue heating for 30 minutes.
- Shape as a Standard Boule: Transfer the cold dough to a bread sling or parchment paper. Score the dough as desired.
- Shape as a Pumpkin: Cut four 24-inch pieces of food-grade twine and soak them in oil for 10 minutes. Squeeze out enough excess oil to prevent the twine from dripping. Arrange the four pieces of twine over your proofing basket or bowl in a double-cross pattern, creating 8 sections. Flip the cold dough out of the basket and onto your bread sling or parchment paper so the twine is underneath the dough. Bring the ends of the twine up around the dough and loosely tie them together at the top, leaving enough slack for the dough to expand as it bakes. Trim any excess twine. Score a vertical line down the center of each section.
- Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Add the ice cubes for steam, then carefully lower the dough into the Dutch oven. Cover with the lid and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 5–10 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden brown and reaches your desired level of doneness.2 ice cubes
- Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. If you made a pumpkin shaped loaf, carefully remove the twine and insert a whole cinnamon stick into the top center as a stem.
A straight-sided container makes it much easier to see how much the dough has risen.
Keep in mind that the twine limits how much the dough can expand, so a pumpkin shaped loaf may be slightly smaller and denser than a traditional boule.
Notes
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5.5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 336mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 12.5mg | Iron: 2.2mg
Did you try this recipe?Let me know! Comment below, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram @everydayhomemadebyashley.
