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Pumpkin Sourdough Bread (With a Spiced Swirl)

Servings 12 slices (1 loaf)
Calories 237
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Resting Time 1 day 30 minutes
Total Time 1 day 2 hours 5 minutes
recipe card pumpkin swirl sourdough bread

INGREDIENTS

Feed Your Starter

  • 12 g sourdough starter
  • 60 g water
  • 60 g bread flour

Main Dough

Swirl Mixture

Egg Wash (Optional)

  • 1 egg (helps swirl mixture adhere; can sub water)
  • 1 tsp water (for mixing with the egg)

Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread (Optional)

  • 55 g pumpkin purée
  • 40 g brown sugar
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend
  • 113 g butter or cream cheese (or use half of each — your choice!) softened

Before You Begin

Shopping tip: This recipe uses a full can of pumpkin purée. Most of it goes into the loaf, and the rest goes into the pumpkin butter.
Note: This recipe was developed and is written in metric (grams). Volume measurements (cups & spoons) are automatically converted and untested — use at your own risk. For best results, use a kitchen scale.

Equipment

Instructions 

Feed Your Starter

  1. The night before making your dough, feed your starter at a 1:5:5 feeding ratio by mixing 12 g sourdough starter, 60 g water, and 60 g bread flour. Loosely cover and let ferment on the counter overnight [10–12 hours at 68–75°F (20–24°C)]. This recipe uses 120 g, so you'll have 12 g left to maintain your starter.

Mix

  1. By hand: In a large mixing bowl, use a Danish dough whisk to combine 370 g pumpkin purée, 100 g water, 120 g active sourdough starter, 60 g brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 tsp maple extract (optional). Then, add 500 g bread flour, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend, and 10 g salt. When the dough starts coming together, switch to your hands and knead or use the slap-and-fold method for 2–4 minutes, or until all ingredients are well combined. Bulk fermentation has begun.
    Stand mixer: To your stand mixer bowl, add 370 g pumpkin purée, 100 g water, 120 g active sourdough starter, 60 g brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp maple extract (optional), 500 g bread flour, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend, and 10 g salt. Mix using the dough hook on low speed for 2–4 minutes, or until all ingredients are well combined. Bulk fermentation has begun.
  2. Texture check: Compare your dough to the video below. If it’s stiffer than mine, add water 1 tbsp at a time; if it’s looser, add bread flour 1 tbsp at a time. Heads up: nearly half of recipe testers found theirs stickier than mine and added flour, usually 2–4 tablespoons. Small adjustments are normal given all the variables in sourdough baking.
  3. Cover your bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Dough Strengthening

  1. Perform one set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
  2. Perform one set of coil folds (this is gentler on the dough than stretch and folds). Cover and let rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
    coil folding sourdough pumpkin bread

Finish Bulk Fermentation

  1. Let the dough finish bulk fermenting until it’s jiggly, full of bubbles, pulls away easily from the sides of the bowl, still has a domed shape, and feels super puffy when poked. For reference, recipe testers who got a perfect loaf typically needed about 6 hours at 77–80°F (25–26.5°C), 6–7 hours at 74–76°F (23.5–24.5°C), and 7–8 hours at 68–73°F (20–23°C). These temperatures were reported as dough or room temperatures, so use the times as a general guide. Watch the dough, not the clock.

Shape

  1. Prepare the swirl mixture and egg wash: Combine 65 g brown sugar, 25 g bread flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 egg with 1 tsp water for the egg wash — this helps the swirl adhere, but you can brush or mist the dough with water instead.
  2. Turn out your dough and gently stretch it into a 15" x 15" square. Pick it up and let gravity do the work, rotating the dough to stretch each side. Lightly flour if sticky. Brush with egg wash (or water), leaving a 1½-inch border on the top and sides. Sprinkle 75% of the swirl mixture (about 70g) evenly over the egg wash, keeping the border clear and bringing it all the way to the bottom edge.
  3. Fold the dough's sides to the center so they meet without overlapping, then pinch the center seam closed. Fold the top and bottom edges inward about an inch and pinch to seal — this helps contain the filling.
  4. Brush with egg wash (or water), again leaving a clean border on the top and sides. Sprinkle the remaining swirl mixture (about 24 g) evenly over the egg wash (or water), all the way to the bottom edge. Starting from the bottom, roll snugly into a log, pinching the side seams as you go.
  5. Place the dough seam-side up into a banneton lined with a lightly floured towel, dust the top of the dough with flour, and cover with a bowl cover or plastic wrap.
    If using a loaf pan, line it with parchment paper and place the dough seam-side down. Dust the top with flour and cover before proofing.
    If the dough felt dense rather than airy during shaping, let it rest on the counter for another 30–60 minutes. Then refrigerate for 8–36 hours.
    stitch and flour shaped pumpkin swirl loaf

Score and Bake

  1. Preheat your conventional oven to 425°F (220°C) with a Dutch oven inside.
  2. Flip the dough onto parchment paper and score a shallow line down the center of the loaf.
    flip and score pumpkin swirl loaf
  3. Transfer the dough and parchment paper into your preheated Dutch oven. Place a half sheet pan on the rack directly below the Dutch oven to help prevent the bottom from burning. Bake covered for 45 minutes.
  4. Remove the lid and check the loaf's internal temperature. If it's below 190°F (88°C), replace the lid and bake for another 5 minutes, then check again. Otherwise, bake uncovered for another 3-7 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 200–210°F (93–99°C).
  5. Place the baked loaf on a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing (about 1–2 hours). Cooling allows the interior to fully set.
    checking temp of baked loaf and moving to cooling rack

Make Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread (Optional)

  1. In a small saucepan, combine 55 g pumpkin purée, 40 g brown sugar, and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3–5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens to a paste and darkens slightly. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool completely.
    Whisk 113 g butter or cream cheese (or use half of each — your choice!) with the cooled pumpkin paste, beating until smooth and uniform in color. Store in the fridge; bring to room temperature before serving!

Notes

Pro tip: After mixing, transfer your dough to a square or rectangular dish instead of a round bowl. This sets you up for success when stretching the dough into a square later!
Half loaf: Use the 0.5x button to scale the ingredients. The roll-out size and bake time don’t adjust automatically. One tester rolled the dough to about 12×12 inches and baked it at 425°F, covered, for about 35 minutes, until it reached 190°F inside. They then uncovered it and baked for 5 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Sourdough Bread (With a Spiced Swirl)
Serving Size
 
1 slice
Amount per Serving
Calories
237
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
3
g
5
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Trans Fat
 
0.1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0.4
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Cholesterol
 
5
mg
2
%
Sodium
 
344
mg
15
%
Potassium
 
137
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
 
46
g
15
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
9
g
10
%
Protein
 
6
g
12
%
Vitamin A
 
5578
IU
112
%
Vitamin C
 
2
mg
2
%
Calcium
 
31
mg
3
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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