She’s the Goose
From the Oven · Autumn
Pumpkin Sourdough
Real pumpkin in the dough turns the crumb a deep, warm gold. It’s tender and faintly sweet, and it still tastes like proper sourdough.
This is an autumn loaf, not a pumpkin-spice one. The purée brings color and moisture, and a spoonful of honey softens the sourdough’s tang without making the bread sweet. Use plain canned pumpkin, not pie filling. Pie filling’s sugar and spices take over the loaf.
Ingredients
For the loaf
- 3¾ cups (450 g) bread flour
- ⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp (100 g) unsweetened pumpkin purée
- ½ cup (100 g) active sourdough starter
- 1 cup (240 g) lukewarm water
- 1¾ tsp (10 g) fine sea salt
- 2 tsp (15 g) honey or maple syrup
Optional
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- 01
Mix the dough. Stir together the water, starter, pumpkin purée and honey until combined. Add the flour, and the cinnamon if you’re using it, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and rest 30 minutes. Add the salt and work it in with damp hands.
- 02
Stretch and fold. Over the next 2 hours, do four sets of stretch-and-folds about 30 minutes apart.
- 03
Let it rise. Cover and leave at room temperature for 4 to 7 hours, until the dough has grown 50 to 75% and looks airy and lightly bubbled.
- 04
Shape. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, shape it gently into a round, and set it seam-side up in a floured banneton or towel-lined bowl.
- 05
Refrigerate overnight. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 14 hours.
- 06
Bake. Put a Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 475°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the cold dough onto parchment, score the top, and lower it into the hot pot. Reduce the oven to 450°F and bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the oven to 425°F, and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the crust is as dark as you like it.
- 07
Cool. Cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing.
Notes
Cut it thick and toast it. Finish with salted butter and a little honey, or set it beside a bowl of soup.
The cup measurements for pumpkin and starter are approximate. Weigh them if you can; it’s the surest way to get the same loaf twice.