hands holding a pumpkin shaped pumpkin spice sourdough bread

This whimsical pumpkin shaped pumpkin spice sourdough bread creates the perfect centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table or Halloween. Adding pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice elevates the flavor and aroma.

I’ve created a YouTube Video for today’s loaf that walks you through making this bread and how to tie it up for the unique shape. It’s linked below just before the recipe.

To me, fall is pumpkin season. I love the colorful leaves, crispy apples, and, of course, pumpkins. During the fall and winter months, I spend a lot more time in the kitchen creating recipes, maybe sipping on pumpkin spice lattes and inhaling the spicy aroma of my latest bake. I also decorate my house – yes, with pumpkins and colored leaves – so this pumpkin-shaped bread is a perfect addition.

For the pumpkin spice sourdough bread recipe, you can make your own pumpkin puree or purchase a can. Pumpkin Pie filling is not recommended.

I’m using my Easy Beginner Sourdough Recipe today with some tweaks. If you’re new to sourdough, this is a really basic and easy recipe to try. If your not fond of pumpkin spice but want the pumpkin shaped bread, this recipe is perfect.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, check my disclosure page.

Ingredients:

Active Sourdough Starter – sourdough starter that has been fed 4 – 12 hours before baking
Canned or homemade pumpkin puree
Warm Water
unbleached bread flour or all-purpose flour
salt
brown sugar
pumpkin pie spice mix – recipe below
olive oil
bakers twine
cinnamon sticks

Shaping The Bread:

To get the shape and indents in the bread, you tie it with kitchen string. I show you how to do this in the video.

Make sure to use food-grade cotton string for the shaping. Soaking it in olive oil for about 1/2 hour will stop it from sticking to your break while it bakes.

I also added an easy wheat design score inside each panel for added interest.

Equipment:

Step By Step Instructions:

Combine the active sourdough starter and the warm water and stir until you get a milky mixture. Add the pumpkin puree and combine.

Next, add the flour and salt and combine until you have a shaggy mass.

Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Then, do two sets of stretches and folds 30 minutes apart, covering with a damp towel in between.

On the third stretch and fold 30 minutes later, add the pumpkin pie spice mix.

Wait an additional 30 minutes and do the fourth and final stretch and fold.

Cover with a bowl cover and let it bulk ferment on the counter for 10 – 12 hours until the bread has almost doubled in size, is domed, and has a few visible bubbles. It should also start pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

We keep our house at 68 degrees in the evenings, so I finish my stretch and folds around 8 p.m. and let it ferment overnight. I shape it between 6 and 8 a.m. the following morning.

Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch it out into a large square.

Sprinkle with 1/2 of the brown sugar. Fold 1/3 in, add more sugar, fold the other side in, and add the remaining sugar.

Roll up and shape into a ball, folding the edges under and pulling towards you to create tension in the dough. I detail this in the video.

Place upside down inside a round banneton, cover with a large plastic bag, and place in the fridge until the next morning.

The next morning, place your Dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 450°.

Soak the 4 pieces of string in olive oil for 30 – 60 minutes, then lay out on a paper towel to extract the extra oil.

Remove the bread from the plastic bag but leave it in the banneton. Lay the oiled strings evenly around the bottom of the bread, crisscrossing at the center.

Place the parchment paper over the bread, secure it with your hand, and flip it over onto the counter to remove the banneton.

Gently tie the strings at the top of the bread, ensuring you do not pull too tight. You do not want the string to indent the bread. Cut off the tails above the knots.

Quickly score a simple leaf and/or wheat pattern into each panel – TIP – Bread scores easier when cold.

Place it into the preheated Dutch oven. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes covered. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 18 – 23 minutes.

Use a digital thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches at least 204°.

Remove the loaf of bread from the Dutch oven, flip it over, snip the string, and gently remove it.

Push a cinnamon stick down into the center top of the loaf to represent the stem and then let it cool completely (at least 2 – 4 hours) before cutting.

TIP – it’s much easier to insert the cinnamon stick when the bread is warm.

ingredients for the Pumpkin Pie Spice Mixture

Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe:

For best results, ensure your spices are fresh:

3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1-1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Combine all spices and store in an airtight container (I use a small canning jar with a tight lid).

I also use this spice mix for my pumpkin pies and muffins.

About Sugar and Sourdough:

I wait until the final step to add my brown sugar because sugar and sourdough don’t like each other very much.

The first time I tested this bread, I put it in at the very beginning, and by the second set of stretch and folds, I had a stringy mess that would not hold it’s shape.

Why? Because too much sugar will affect the gluten development in your sourdough. It will also decrease the time it takes for your dough to rise. This can decrease the sour flavor of your sourdough bread. I don’t mind that too much in this case because I want to taste the pumpkin spice. But, I did want to bring this to your attention.

Pumpkin shaped pumpkin spice sourdough bread surrounded by pumpkins

Add-Ins or Inclusions:

You could include a few additional items in this bread if you like. HOWEVER, it may cause lumps in your finished loaf.

40 g chopped dried cranberries

40 g chopped walnuts

40 g chocolate chips

Pumpkin Shaped Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bread with one piece cut out on a black plate with a fork

What Goes Well with this Yummy Pumpkin Shaped Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bread?

We like butter: it lets the pumpkin and spice flavor shine through. However, apple butter, pumpkin butter, cream cheese and Havarti cheese slices are all good.

Please leave me a comment about your favorite topping for this bread. I’d love to try your ideas.

Here is the Video for the PUMPKIN SHAPED PUMPKIN SPICE SOURDOUGH BREAD:

Pumpkin Shaped Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bread

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 53

Fermenting Time: 9

Servings:

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Sandi

Equipment

Small and large Mixing Bowls small one to soak the string
kitchen scale
Parchment Paper
Cotton String
Banneton
White Rice Flour
Bowl Covers
Large Plastic Bag to cover dough while Fermenting
Digital Thermometer

Ingredients

125 g Active sourdough Starter 1/2 cup
175 g pumpkin puree 3/4 cup
240 g warm water 1 cup + 1 tbsp.
500 g bread flour 3-3/4 cup
10 g salt 1 tbsp.
30 g brown sugar 1/4 cup
14 g pumpkin pie spice 1 tbsp.

Instructions

Combine the active sourdough starter and the warm water and stir until you get a milky mixture. Add the pumpkin puree and combine.
Next, add the flour and salt and combine until you have a shaggy mass.
Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Then, do two sets of stretches and folds 30 minutes apart, covering with a damp towel in between.
On the third stretch and fold 30 minutes later, add the pumpkin pie spice mix.
Wait an additional 30 minutes and do the fourth and final stretch and fold.
Cover with a bowl cover and let it bulk ferment on the counter for 10 – 12 hours until the bread has almost doubled in size, is domed, and has a few visible bubbles. It should also start pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
We keep our house at 68 degrees in the evenings, so I finish my stretch and folds around 8 p.m. and let it ferment overnight. I shape it between 6 and 8 a.m. the following morning.
Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch it out into a large square.
Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar. Fold 1/3 in, add more sugar, fold the other side in, and add the remaining sugar.
Roll up and shape into a ball, folding the edges under and pulling towards you to create tension in the dough. I detail this in the video.
Place upside down in a round banneton, cover with a large plastic bag, and place in the fridge until the next morning.
The next morning, place your Dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 450°.
Soak the 4 pieces of string in olive oil for 30 – 60 minutes, then lay out on a paper towel to extract the extra oil.
Remove the bread from the plastic bag but leave it in the banneton. Lay the oiled strings evenly around the bottom of the bread, crisscrossing at the center.
Place the parchment paper over the bread, secure it with your hand, and flip it over onto the counter to remove the banneton.
Gently tie the strings at the top of the bread, ensuring you do not pull too tight. You do not want the string to indent the bread. Cut off the tails above the knots.
Quickly score a simple leaf and/or wheat pattern into each panel – TIP – Bread scores easier when cold.
Place it into the preheated Dutch oven. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes covered. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 18 – 23 minutes.
Use a digital thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches at least 204°.
Remove the loaf of bread from the Dutch oven, flip it over, snip the string, and gently remove it.
Push a cinnamon stick down into the center top of the loaf to represent the stem and then let it cool completely (at least 2 – 4 hours) before cutting.
TIP – it’s much easier to insert the cinnamon stick when the bread is warm.