Pumpkin-shaped sourdough is so easy, and it should honestly be on everyone’s autumnal bucket list. 🎃
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Here’s the thing… if you know sourdough, you can make this.
It’s really just your standard loaf with a little kitchen twine magic to create those perfect pumpkin sections. The pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, brown sugar, and vanilla make your whole house smell like Autumn is happening right there in your oven.
And once it’s baked?!
Pop a cinnamon stick into the top for a little pumpkin stem and you have the CUTEST loaf for your fall table. 🥹
And pleaseeeee slice yourself a warm piece and slather it with my cinnamon honey butter.
This recipe makes one beautiful pumpkin-shaped sourdough loaf that’s perfect for a fall table, a gift, or just because you deserve something that looks and tastes like harvest season!
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Sourdough
- Made with real pumpkin puree
- Naturally leavened with active sourdough starter
- Warmly spiced with pumpkin spice and vanilla
- Lightly sweetened with brown sugar
- Shaped with simple kitchen twine for those beautiful pumpkin sections
- Cold proof can be anywhere from overnight to 2 days
- Finished with a cinnamon stick for the CUTEST pumpkin stem
- Beautiful for a fall table, hostess gift, or Autumn gathering
- Absolutely glorious served warm with cinnamon honey butter 😍
How Do You Make Sourdough Look Like a Pumpkin?
Kitchen twine magic. 🙂↔️🎃
The actual dough-making process isn’t wildly different from making a regular round sourdough loaf.
After the dough has fermented, been shaped, and cold proofed, you’ll lay 4 pieces of kitchen twine in a criss-cross pattern over a piece of parchment paper.
Turn the dough out on top, then tie together the strings from opposite sides to create 8 pumpkin-like sections around the loaf.
You don’t want the strings digging tightly into the dough… they’re there to guide the shape as the bread expands in the oven.
Then score each section, bake, remove the twine once the loaf has completely cooled, and tuck a cinnamon stick right into the center.
HELLOOOOO little sourdough pumpkin!!
What You’ll Need
Nothing too wild for this one! If you already make sourdough, you’ll probably have most of it:
- Large mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Dough scraper
- Round banneton or bowl lined with a tea towel
- Parchment paper
- Kitchen string
- Bread lame or sharp scoring blade
- Lodge Bread Oven or Dutch oven
- Wire cooling rack
- Instant-read thermometer (optional, but handy for checking when your loaf is baked through)
I keep my favorite tools and pantry staples in this storefront if you want to peek!
A Few Helpful Tips
Watch the dough, not just the clock.
At 70°F, bulk fermentation takes about 6 hours, but a warmer kitchen will move faster, and a cooler kitchen will take longer. You’re looking for dough that’s soft, airy, puffed, and almost doubled.
Give yourself flexibility with the cold proof.
Once the shaped loaf is in the fridge, you can bake it anytime within the next 2 days. Same night, next morning, two days later… she’s flexible. 🙂↔️
Don’t forget the rice flour.
Dusting the loaf before scoring helps those beautiful patterns stand out once baked.
Let it cool before removing the string.
Cool the loaf completely on a wire rack before carefully removing the kitchen twine and adding your cinnamon stick stem.
How to Make Pumpkin Sourdough
- Mix the active starter and warm water until milky, then add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, vanilla, bread flour, and salt.
- Rest for 30 minutes, then complete 3 rounds of stretch and folds spaced 30 minutes apart.
- Bulk ferment until the dough is soft, airy, and almost doubled, approximately 6 hours at 70°F.
- Preshape the dough into a round and let it rest uncovered for 20–30 minutes.
- Complete the final shape and transfer seam side up into a floured round banneton.
- Cover and cold proof overnight or for up to 2 days.
- Preheat your Lodge Bread Oven or Dutch oven to 430°F for at least 30 minutes.
- Arrange 4 pieces of kitchen twine in a criss-cross pattern over parchment, turn the dough out on top, and tie the strings to create 8 pumpkin sections.
- Dust with rice flour and score each section with a wheat stalk pattern.
- Bake with 2 ice cubes under the parchment for 20 minutes covered, then 25 minutes uncovered.
- Cool completely, carefully remove the string, and add a cinnamon stick to the center for the pumpkin stem.
Pumpkin Sourdough
Rate this RecipeIngredients
- 100 g active bubbly sourdough starter
- 220 g warm water
- 184 g pumpkin puree
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 1 cinnamon stick for decorating
- 4 pieces kitchen twine for creating pumpkin sections
- 2 ice cubes for steam in the oven
- Rice flour for dusting
Method
- Mix the dough: Mix the active sourdough starter and warm water until milky. Add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and vanilla. Add the bread flour and salt and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold: Wet your hands. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl and repeat from all four sides. Complete 3 rounds total, with 30 minutes between each round.
- Bulk ferment: Cover and let the dough rise at room temperature until soft, airy, and almost doubled in size. At 70°F (21°C), this takes approximately 6 hours.
- Preshape: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Fold it toward the center a few times to create a round. Place seam side down on the counter and rest uncovered for 20–30 minutes.
- Final shape: Push and pull the dough across the counter with your hands to create tension and shape it into a round, keeping the seam on the bottom. Flip seam side up and place into a floured round banneton or bowl lined with a tea towel.
- Cold proof: Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 2 days.
- Preheat: Preheat a Lodge Bread Oven or Dutch oven to 430°F (220°C) for at least 30 minutes.
- Create the pumpkin shape: Lay 4 pieces of kitchen twine in a criss-cross pattern on top of a piece of parchment paper. Turn the cold dough out onto the strings, seam side down, and dust the top with rice flour.
- Tie strings in pairs from opposite sides to create 8 pumpkin sections. Score each section with a wheat stalk pattern and cut off any excess string.
- Bake: Transfer the parchment and loaf into the hot bread oven or Dutch oven. Place 2 ice cubes under the parchment and cover. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another 25 minutes, until deeply golden and the internal temperature reaches 205°F (96°C).
- Cool and finish: Cool completely on a wire rack before carefully removing the string. Add a cinnamon stick to the center for your pumpkin stem. 🎃
