Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

My artisan pumpkin sourdough bread is the perfect festive sourdough bread recipe. This cute loaf is shaped like a pumpkin and is perfect for a decorative bread creation for the fall season. It makes a great centerpiece for your thanksgiving table or to give as gifts for your family and friends. The best part about this sourdough pumpkin bread is that it includes a cinnamon sugar swirl that perfectly compliments the pumpkin flavor in the bread itself.

sourdough pumpkin swirl bread on parchment paper with some sliced bread next to the main pumpkin shaped loaf.

Do note that this sourdough pumpkin bread recipe uses active starter and is different from the quick sweet loaf bread that is also commonly called “pumpkin bread”. If that is what you are looking for, no worries, I have you covered in my post for sourdough discard pumpkin bread.

Sourdough Pumpkin Bread Ingredients and Substitutions

Flour: I highly recommend using bread flour if you are newer to sourdough baking. Bread flour has a higher percent of protein. This creates a stronger dough that is easier to work with. That being said, you can get away with using all purpose flour. I often use the Organic All Purpose flour from Costco and it works quite well.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: I prefer to buy a blend of pumpkin pie spice, however you can also make your own. To make your own pumpkin pie spice, mix 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground cloves. Store this mixture in a jar and use the amount indicated in the recipe.
Salt
Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you purchase pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has sugar and spices that will not work well in this recipe.
Sourdough Starter: You want your sourdough starter to be active and bubbly to use in this recipe. Your starter should double after each feed. Use the starter at its peak or when just starting to fall.
Water: I recommend using filtered water for sourdough bread. Certain additives in tap water can inhibit the growth of yeast. Chlorine in particular can cause an issue. However, in my experience, if your starter is quite active, this isn’t usually an issue.
Maple syrup: You can also substitute honey or plain white sugar.

Cinnamon Swirl Ingredients

Butter
Brown Sugar
Pumpkin Puree
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Spice
Flour

How to Make Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Feed your starter: Feed your starter 8 hours before ready to bake (this is typically done the night before). Start with 25 g of starter. Stir in 50 g of flour and 50 g of water. Mix together, then cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Allow to rise overnight at room temperature.

Make the Dough

Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and pumpkin spice) in a large mixing bowl.

There is a hand whisking together the dry ingredients for sourdough pumpkin loaf.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, pumpkin puree, sourdough starter, and maple syrup.

hand whisking wet ingredients for pumpkin sourdough bread.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula or a bread whisk to mix the dough until a shaggy dough forms. There should not be any loose flour at the bottom of the bowl. Cover and let rest for about 30 minutes.

hand mixing pumpkin sourdough bread ingredients in bowl.

sourdough pumpkin loaf dough in bowl after just mixed completely together with a whisk.

Step 4: Perform your first set of stretch and folds. Grab the edge of your dough, gently pull up and stretch it across itself. Turn the bowl 1/4 of a turn, then repeat the process 3 more times. Cover the bowl and let rest for another 15-30 minutes.

beginning of stretch and fold with hand lifting the edge of the dough up. — Step 1: Lift dough from the edge of the bowl and stretch it up.

end of stretch and fold with hand folding dough over itself — Step 2: Fold the dough over itself.

Step 5: Over the next 2 hours, continue to perform stretch and folds. Ideally, aim for at least 3 rounds. This helps to develop gluten in the dough.

Step 6: After the 2 hours are up, cover the dough and allow it rise at room temperature until increased in size by about 75%.

pumpkin sourdough bread dough after bulk fermentation. The dough appears fluffy with multiple bubbles on the surface. — Notice how the dough appears fluffy with multiple bubbles on the surface after the bulk fermentation is complete.

A Few Notes About Bulk Fermentation

This is one of the hardest parts of sourdough baking. The more you bake, the more you will get a feel for when your dough is perfectly fermented.

Here are some things to notice when you think the dough is ready:

Observe. It will look fairly smooth on the surface with some larger bubbles.
Feel. You can also touch the top of the dough. It should have a slight tackiness, but overall should not be overly sticky.
Shake. Give the bowl a little shake. The dough should jiggle like jello but not collapse.

Shape the Dough

The shaping technique is the same whether you choose to fill it with a cinnamon swirl filling or not.

If including the cinnamon swirl, mix together the ingredients in a small bowl.

Lightly flour your counter. Then, gently dump your dough onto the work surface.

Use lightly floured hands to gently spread the dough out into a rough square.

Spread about 1/3 of the filling over the surface of the dough. Then fold the dough into thirds. Layering a little bit more of the filling over the folded sides.

pumpkin sourdough bread stretched out on a lightly floured work surface and spread with cinnamon sugar filling.

pumpkin sourdough bread dough folded into thirds and spread with cinnamon sugar filling.

Spread the remaining filling over the top of the now folded bread. Roll this into small ball.

hands folding sourdough pumpkin dough into a small ball.

Flip the dough seam side down. Use your hands to gently pull the dough diagonally toward you, while slightly rotating the dough. Do this several times to create some tension on the outside of the dough and shape it into a circle.

hands shaping the pumpkin sourdough bread into a smooth boule.

Cold Fermentation (Optional)

A common question when making sourdough bread is “do I have to cold ferment my bread?”

The short answer is no. Cold fermentation can help to develop the sour flavor but your bread can be baked as soon as you finish bulk fermenting it.

Most people do a cold fermentation so we included it in our instructions.

Once you shape your dough into a boule, place it seam side up in a banneton dusted with flour. If you do not have a banneton, simply use a lint-free cotton kitchen towel and a small-medium bowl.

shaped pumpkin sourdough bread dough in a banneton seam side up

Cover the bowl or banneton with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. You can do a cold fermentation for anywhere from 1 hour up to 72 hours. I usually recommend 12-24 hours for this recipe.

When Ready to Bake

Preheat your oven to 450F. Place an empty dutch oven in the oven while it preheats.

You will shape your bread into a pumpkin and score it while you wait for the oven to preheat.

How to Make Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough Bread

To shape the sourdough pumpkin loaf, you will need kitchen twine. Cut three long pieces of twine (long enough to fit around the loaf or bread with a little extra room to tie a knot).

Place these strings on a sheet of parchment paper, crossing them evenly to create 6 equal wedges.

twine on parchment paper placed over one another to create 6 wedges on parchment paper.

Carefully flip your sourdough boule on the center of the strings.

Draw the opposite ends of the string to the top of the loaf. Tie the ends together in a knot. Repeat with the remaining two strings. Collect all the loose ends and cut with scissors, leaving about 1/2 inch of excess.

hands tying twine over a boule of sourdough bread dough.

Note:

Tie the strings loosely around the bread. You want them to stay in place, but they should not compress the dough. This will allow the bread to expand more evenly, and prevent the individual sections from bursting out.

How to Score Your Pumpkin Loaf

Scoring a pumpkin loaf is a little bit trickier than a standard loaf. The key to a successful loaf is creating several small shallow scores throughout the entire loaf.

Try to create a pattern that is even and symmetric across all sections of the loaf. I really enjoy making a leaf pattern for this purpose (shown below).

A hand holding a lame and scoring a pumpkin sourdough bread loaf.

Avoid deep scores or the bread will expand too much in that area, creating an asymmetric loaf.

Bake the Bread

Pull out your dutch oven the preheated oven (make sure you are wearing oven mitts!)

Lift the dough with the parchment paper and carefully place it in the dutch oven.

Cover with the lid and return to the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is up, remove the lid and allow to bake and additional 15-20 minutes uncovered.

I highly recommend using a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. It should read at least 195F when finished.

How to Store a Sourdough Pumpkin Loaf

The best way to store your loaf is to slice it and then place in a gallon storage bag. This bread will keep on the counter for several days but beyond 3 days, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator. This will prevent mold growth. The bread will typically last several weeks in the fridge but is best consumed in one week.

How to Serve Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bread

There are several ways to use this bread:

Toasted and spread with butter.
As a side to butternut squash soup.
Make pumpkin sourdough french toast.
Use it in your favorite bread pudding recipe.
Spread with fresh pumpkin butter.
In a sweet sandwich. Try placing salami, arugula, brie and a a little bit of fig jam between two pieces of pumpkin bread. Chef’s kiss!