Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Pumpkin sourdough bread is a 72% hydration boule of freshly milled hard white wheat enriched with pumpkin puree and warm spices. The pumpkin replaces some water for a soft golden crumb with autumn flavor.
Key Takeaways
- Drain canned pumpkin to prevent a slack, runny dough.
- Pumpkin replaces some water — total hydration is still about 72%.
- Spices go in at autolyse for even distribution.
- Pepitas folded mid-bulk add crunch and seasonal flair.
- Crumb will be tender and golden-orange — color is part of the appeal.
About this recipe
Pumpkin sourdough is what happens when fall produce meets serious bread technique. The pumpkin puree replaces about a quarter of the water, contributing color, sweetness, and a soft tender crumb. Warm spices — cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove — make it unmistakably seasonal without crossing into dessert territory. Use canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling) or roasted and pureed sugar pumpkin. The water content matters: drain canned puree on a paper towel for 10 minutes to prevent an overly slack dough. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) folded in at the second stretch add crunch and reinforce the theme. This is the loaf for Thanksgiving morning toast, leftover-turkey sandwiches, and bread baskets all autumn long.
Prep: 30 min
Bake: 45 min
Hydration: 72%
Ingredients
- Freshly milled hard white wheat flour500 g
- Water (85°F / 29°C)260 g
- Pumpkin puree (drained)100 g
- Active 100% hydration sourdough starter100 g
- Fine sea salt11 g
- Cinnamon5 g (2 tsp)
- Nutmeg, allspice, clove (combined)2 g (1 tsp total)
- Toasted pepitas (optional)60 g
Instructions
- 1
Drain pumpkin puree on a paper towel 10 minutes.
- 2
Feed starter 6 hours before mixing.
- 3
Whisk water, drained pumpkin, and starter in a large bowl.
- 4
Add flour, salt, and spices. Mix to no-dry-spots and rest 45 minutes for autolyse.
- 5
Add starter (if not pre-mixed) and squeeze through. Rest 30 minutes.
- 6
Perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, 30 minutes apart. Sprinkle pepitas during the second fold.
- 7
Bulk ferment at 76°F until risen 60% — typically 5–6 hours total.
- 8
Pre-shape into a loose round, rest 20 minutes.
- 9
Final shape into a tight boule and place in a rice-floured banneton seam-up.
- 10
Refrigerate 12–18 hours.
- 11
Preheat oven and Dutch oven to 500°F (260°C) for 45 minutes.
- 12
Score the cold loaf and bake covered 20 minutes at 500°F.
- 13
Reduce to 450°F (230°C), uncover, and bake 20–25 more minutes (internal 205°F / 96°C).
- 14
Cool on a rack 90 minutes before slicing.
fresh flour baking guide for beginners — hydration, gluten development, and grain choice tips that make this recipe work.
Learn about this grain: Hard White Wheat guide — flavor, milling notes, baking tips, and four in-depth guides on hydration, storage, and common mistakes. Or browse more Hard White Wheat recipes.
Learn a technique
All guides →- How to Stretch and Fold DoughEvery 30 minutes during bulk ferment, lift one side of the dough, stretch up, and fold over the top. Rotate 90° and repeat.
- Bulk Fermentation with Fresh-Milled FlourFresh-milled flour ferments faster than commercial flour. Watch the dough, not the clock, and end bulk fermentation when volume has grown 50–75%.
- How to Shape a Batard and BouleBoules are round; batards are oval. Both rely on building surface tension by tucking the dough under itself with light, confident movements.
- Build & Maintain a Fresh-Milled Sourdough StarterA step-by-step guide to creating a robust whole-grain sourdough starter from scratch and maintaining it for weekly baking.
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Related Techniques
How to Stretch and Fold Dough
Every 30 minutes during bulk ferment, lift one side of the dough, stretch up, and fold over the top. Rotate 90° and repeat.
Bulk Fermentation with Fresh-Milled Flour
Fresh-milled flour ferments faster than commercial flour. Watch the dough, not the clock, and end bulk fermentation when volume has grown 50–75%.
How to Shape a Batard and Boule
Boules are round; batards are oval. Both rely on building surface tension by tucking the dough under itself with light, confident movements.
Build & Maintain a Fresh-Milled Sourdough Starter
A step-by-step guide to creating a robust whole-grain sourdough starter from scratch and maintaining it for weekly baking.
Cold Retard & Bulk for Fresh-Milled Sourdough
How to time and temperature-manage bulk fermentation and cold retard for fresh-milled sourdough to develop flavor without overproofing.
Fresh Milled Flour Hydration Guide
Hydration is the single variable that fixes more fresh-milled bread problems than any other adjustment. Bagged bread flour is engineered to behave predictably — milled to a uniform fine particle, aged for weeks, and stripped of the thirsty bran and germ. Fresh-milled flour is the opposite: it contains every part of the kernel, and the intact bran soaks up water slowly. The same recipe that produces a slack, sticky white-flour dough produces a dry, tight fresh-milled dough unless you increase the liquid. This guide explains why hydration matters more for fresh flour, how each grain behaves, how to read dough texture by feel, how to convert standard recipes, and how to troubleshoot the most common hydration symptoms.