Ingredients
Dough
- 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
For Shaping & Baking
- 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. 🎃
