Pumpkin Sourdough Bread (with a cinnamon swirl!) 🍂

She's crisp, yet soft and ultra (ultra!) fragrant– she's a pumpkin sourdough bread, with a cinnamon sugar swirl.

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g spring water
• 200 g pumpkin puree
• 100 g active starter
• 50 g raw honey
• 500 g strong bread flour (*)
• 7 g sea salt
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- feed your starter ---
2. 2Add roughly 50g of flour to feed your starter (you want 100g of active starter for the recipe, so it depends on how big you keep your starter (say you may want to feed it for a couple days without discarding if you keep a small one going)(or if you’re taking yours out of the fridge you’ll def need to do one feeding before it’s strong enough to bake with).
3. 3Add enough spring water (you don’t want filtered, you really do want the added minerals) until the dough resembles a thick pancake batter. Generally 50g of water/50 g of flour (i.e. a 100% ratio) is enough to get the consistency right (but if you're dealing with warmer temperatures you may want to do just 70% to have a more stable starter).
4. 4Allow to rest for 3-6 hours in a warm(ish) place: until it doubles in size. You can test for prime activity fairly well either using the float test (as it sounds: check if your starter floats in a little water) or the burn test (tap your starter on the counter to “break the surface”, light a match and if it blows out it means your starter is using up all the oxygen in the surrounding area i.e. it’s sourdough time).
5. 5--- 3-6 hours later: make your dough ---
6. 6Add the water (preferably at room temp), pumpkin puree, active starter and honey to a large bowl. Using your hands (though some peeps favor a danish hook) mix until thoroughly dissolved.
7. 7Add in the flour and salt and mix with your hands until just combined and the dough is all shaggy (and sticky).
8. 8Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
9. 9--- 30 mins later: bulk rise (plus stretch ‘n folds) ---
10. 10Thirty minutes in you’ll want to do a set of “stretch ‘n folds”: grab a hold of the dough, stretch it upwards and fold it down towards the center of the bowl. Rotate and repeat four times (you can watch me do it here).
11. 11Repeat three more times every thirty minutes (sourdough pumpkin baked goods take a little longer to develop gluten, so its important to do a few sets!).
12. 12Transfer to a smaller bowl (as it’s easier to gauge the rise if you can actually mark it with a sharpie) and cover with a kitchen towel.
13. 13Allow to rest for 3-10 hours, or until at least doubled in size (remember that time here is directly influenced by temperature so it’ll vary greatly)(p.s. I generally let mine go until it almost tripes as I’ve pushed it just until the point that it begins to recede back and it still comes out superb)(and I personally find it easiest to digest).
14. 14--- 4-8 hours later: shape ---
15. 15See post for guidance! Lightly flour your working surface, turn the dough out and stretch it out gently (allow it to rest for 10 minutes if it “feels” like it’s resisting)(you’ll know, trust me!). Stretch it out, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, fold the sides in, and roll it gently but tightly. You then want to roll it gently against the counter towards you a few times (this creates surface tension, making for a better crust!).
16. 16Transfer to a (very well floured or lined) banneton or small-ish bowl and cover with a paper towel, place inside a plastic bag and refrigerate for 6-24 hours (sourdough breads with added starches and sugars can't really go much longer than 24 hours)(I did 48 once and it was ok, but a little too sour).Or allow to proof at room temperature for about 2 more hours, until it springs back to touch (you literally want to poke it gently, and if it springs back you know you’re golden)(though if it springs back too quickly it’s actually under-proofed)(and, you may’ve guessed it, if it doesn’t spring back at all you’re now over-proofed). i.e. this is why baking a few loafs and poking them around throughout it’s stages is highly suggested.
17. 17--- 2 hours later: bake away! ---
18. 18Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C with your Dutch oven inside for 20 minutes (some peeps bake at a lower temperature, say 420°F, it depends a bit on your oven).
19. 19Wrap loaf with bakers twine and score it (please see video story for a little tutorial).
20. 20Bake lid on for 20 minutes, remove lid and bake for 20 more minutes or until deeply golden brown (if you tap it on the bottom it’ll also sound hollow).
21. 21Allow to cool completely if you want it at its best– but 20 minutes will do if you simply can’t hold your horses (and you don’t want to wreck your crumb).p.s. my best suggestion for storing your sourdough is to simply keep it in your bread or Dutch oven (what I do). But investing in a bread tin is neat too!