Sourdough Pumpkin-Shaped Bread

This pumpkin-shaped sourdough loaf is fun to make and looks gorgeous on your fall-themed table. 

 

To get this pumpkin form, you slightly underproof the shaped loaf and then wrap it with string that you tie together at the top of the loaf. 

For the color, you add pumpkin puree to the dough, and if you are game, add some pumpkin spice and maple syrup for a lovely aroma. 

The bread itself doesn't really taste "pumpkin-y," and you can serve it where ever you would serve a rustic loaf of sourdough bread. In fact, it was delicious alongside a hearty Argentine-style beef stew I had made in the slow cooker. 

This recipe makes two loaves. I shaped one like a pumpkin, and shaped the second one into a boule. I baked them both in cast iron Dutch ovens, but you can also bake them on a baking stone with steam. 

The dough begins with a pâte fermentée, which you mix and knead and let rise before letting it ferment overnight in the refrigerator, or up to three days. 

Mix the final dough with all of the pâte fermentée, flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice (or make your own), pumpkin puree, and maple syrup. The dough will smell amazing. 

While the pâte fermentée begins with a sourdough starter, if you want to speed up the dough rising, you can also add a teaspoon of instant yeast to the final dough. 

How to create the pumpkin shape:

Cut four 30-inch pieces of butcher's twine, and dip them in olive oil (so that they do not stick to the finished loaf). Lay the strings so that they cross in the middle and are evenly spaced apart on top of a 10 to 12 inch circle of parchment paper, like pie slices. 

Place the shaped dough over the center of the parchment, and bring the opposite ends of the strings together and tie them at the center of the top of the dough. Don't pull them too tightly. The bread will expand in the heat of the oven. 

You can also lightly score the dough between the strings. 

This loaf is fun to make, and the resulting bread is delicious. 

The recipe was introduced to the Bread Baking Babes by our host this month, Cathy of Bread Experience. She experimented with different flours for her loaves, and has some great photos for shaping the dough and tying the string. 

This bread is wonderfully spicy and fragrant, but it is not sweet. It's a lot of fun to make too. 

Sourdough Pumpkin-Shaped Bread

Yield: 32 slices

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

This pumpkin-shaped sourdough loaf is fun to make and looks gorgeous on your fall-themed table.

Ingredients

Pâte Fermentée

• 400 grams all-purpose flour
• 100 grams whole wheat flour
• 8 grams/1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 350 grams water
• 25 grams 100% hydration sourdough starter

Final Dough

• All of the Pâte Fermentée
• 280 grams bread flour or all purpose flour
• 32 grams whole wheat or whole rye flour
• 1 to 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast (optional)
• 8 grams/1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 80 grams water
• 200 grams pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

Pâte Fermentée- Day One

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.
2. Add the water and the starter and mix with a large wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. 
3. Knead by hand for about 4 minutes until soft. Cover the bowl and let rise until it has grown to 1 1/2 times its original size. 
4. Briefly knead to de-gas, cover, and refrigerate overnight and up to 3 days. 

Final Bread - Day Two

1. About 2 hours before mixing the final dough, remove the Pâte Fermentée from the refrigerator and cut it into about 12 pieces. Place the pieces into the bowl of a stand mixer and cover the bowl with a tea towel or cling wrap.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, pumpkin pie spice, and salt (and optional yeast).
3. Add the water, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup to the bowl of the stand mixer with the Pâte Fermentée and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment to break up the dough. Switch to the dough hook and slowly add the flour mixture and continue mixing on low until the dough comes together. The dough should be soft and pliable. It should be tacky but not sticky.
4. Mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough to a dough rising bucket and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
6. Let rise for 2 hours, stretching and folding it after one hour.
7. Divide the dough into two pieces and shape the pieces into rounds. Let rest for 15 minutes.
8. Tighten the rounds and place them into lined and floured proofing baskets, and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel.
9. Let rise to 1 1/2 time the original size.
10. In the meantime, heat the oven with a cast iron Dutch oven on the center rack to 450 degrees F.
11. Cut four 30-inch pieces of butcher's twine, and dip them in olive oil (so that they do not stick to the finished loaf). Lay the strings so that they cross in the middle and are evenly spaced apart on top of a 10 to 12 inch circle of parchment paper, like pie slices.
12. Place the shaped dough over the center of the parchment, and bring the opposite ends of the strings together and tie them at the center of the top of the dough. Don't pull them too tightly. The bread will expand in the heat of the oven.
13. Remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid. Be very careful as the pan is very hot. Lift the tied loaf, parchment and all, and carefully place it in the pot. 
14. Place the lid on the pan and place it in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes with the lid on, and 20 more minutes with the lid off, until the loaf has an internal temperature of 200 to 205 degrees F. 
15. Remove the loaf to a wire rack. 
16. Repeat with the second loaf. 
17. Remove the strings after the loaf cools. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories

151.94

Fat (grams)

0.86

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.19

Carbs (grams)

31.39

Fiber (grams)

2.31

Net carbs

29.09

Sugar (grams)

1.22

Protein (grams)

4.72

Sodium (milligrams)

182.65

Cholesterol (grams)

2.07

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/10/sourdough-pumpkin-shaped-bread.html

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