A fall favorite, this homemade sourdough pumpkin bread is a sweet and quick bread full of pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree and tangy sourdough starter. Everyone will love this recipe.
Not to be confused with this bread I shared the other day, this sweet, quick style bread is so good as breakfast, a snack or dessert.
It’s just like that classic pumpkin bread you love, but with a sourdough twist. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice give this bread the most wonderful flavors. Sweetness from the sugars mixed with the tangy sourdough is the perfect combination.
With the crunch of leaves below my feet in the cool mornings as I head out to do our morning chores, I know fall is here.
We’ve already been to the pumpkin patch, and now I’m in the fall mood. Everything pumpkin.
Which may be apparent with some recent recipes… ahem… pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin smoothie… And that’s only been the last few weeks.
Not only does this recipe taste amazing, but it also makes your house smell amazing. Fall is in the air and in the oven.
Why you will love this recipe:
Simple: No complicated steps. This bread is super easy to whip up on a crisp, cool day.
Delicious: It tastes like fall in a bread. Sweet, slightly tangy, and balanced with spices of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.
Perfect make ahead breakfast: Breakfast can sometimes be a struggle. Serving the same thing over and over get’s pretty redundant. So sometimes I like to spice (see what I did there) it up and add something fun and exciting. Make it the day before, and you have a super simple breakfast the next day.
Tips:
- If the pumpkin bread starts to turn too brown and isn’t baked all the way through, you can cover it with foil.
- Don’t over-mix the batter or you will end up with a tough bread.
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice mix, you can either create your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground clove, or you can just substitute with cinnamon.
- This recipe can be made into a quick bread and baked right away, or it can be long-fermented for more health benefits.
- Sourdough discard or active sourdough starter can be used for this recipe. If you are making the quick version and want a tangier flavor, use sourdough discard.
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Ingredients:
Butter – Unsalted. This allows you to control the amount of salt added.
Dark brown sugar and sugar – The dark brown sugar adds a deeper flavor with the addition of the molasses.
Pumpkin puree – Canned or homemade pumpkin puree (which is pretty easy to make). Just make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling. This has extra added ingredients like sugar.
Eggs – Fresh eggs at room temperature work best. You could even use freeze dried eggs.
Sourdough starter discard – This is sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed.
Vanilla extract – I love making homemade vanilla extract. It is super simple and much cheaper to make it yourself.
All-purpose flour – Nothing fancy, just regular ol’ all-purpose flour.
Baking soda and baking powder – This gives the bread rise. Because this is more of a quick type of bread, it is not relying on the sourdough to give it rise.
Salt – This brings out all the flavors and the sweetness of the bread.
Pumpkin spice – This yummy blend combines clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It just goes together with pumpkin.
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer
Measuring cups and spoons
Loaf pan
Parchment paper
How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer or bowl, mix melted butter and brown sugar for five minutes until light and fluffy.
Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt) well in a medium bowl. I like to do this while the butter and brown sugar are mixing together.
Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter to the brown sugar and butter. Mix until well combined.
Fold in dry ingredients a bit at a time (about 1/3 of the flour mixture) until just incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix.
Pour into a greased pan.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. If it comes out clean, it is done. If there is still some batter on the toothpick, place it back into the oven to finish baking.
Allow to cool in the pan for one hour.
How To Make Long Fermented Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
Combine flour, salt, and pumpkin spice in a medium bowl.
In a stand mixer or bowl, mix melted butter and brown sugar for five minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter.
Fold in dry ingredients a bit at a time until just incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix.
Cover and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6-8 hours. After that time is up, place in the fridge for longer fermentation if desired.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir in baking soda and baking powder, being careful not to over-mix. You want to add this right before baking, because otherwise the leaveners will be activated too early and your bread will not rise properly.
Find More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Pumpkin Pie From Scratch
- Sourdough Pumpkin Scones
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce Recipe
- Pumpkin Chili Recipe With Ground Beef
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or bowl, mix melted butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar for five minutes until light and fluffy.
- Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt) well in a medium bowl.
- Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter to the brown sugar and butter. Mix until well combined.
- Fold in dry ingredients a bit at a time (about 1/3 of the flour mixture) until just incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Pour into a greased pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. If it comes out clean, it is done. If there is still some batter on the toothpick, place it back into the oven to finish baking.
- Allow to cool in the pan for one hour.
Notes
- If the pumpkin bread starts to turn too brown and isn’t baked all the way through, you can cover it with foil.
- Don’t over-mix the batter or you will end up with a tough bread.
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice mix, you can either create your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground clove, or you can just substitute with cinnamon.
- This recipe can be made into a quick bread and baked right away, or it can be long-fermented for more health benefits.
- Sourdough discard or active sourdough starter can be used for this recipe. If you are making the quick version and want a tangier flavor, use sourdough discard.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m going to do the long ferment option. I was thinking of adding chocolate chips at the same time as the baking soda and baking powder right before baking. Do you think that would be okay?
Did you try it with the chocolate chips? How did it come out? I had the same idea. I would also like to try making it with slivers of apples.
I added chocolate chips to mine and it was soooo good. Also smeared cream cheese on it because that’s how I like my pumpkin and banana breads 😉
Yum! Sounds delicious!
This was so so delicious!! This was my very first fermented sweet baked good. I’m brand new to Sourdough, I’ve only made two loaves of regular sourdough bread so far. I didn’t have discard,only active starter. I wanted to try making it with starter because I didnt want to wait. I fermented this for 8 hours, and I noticed it had risen a good amount so I just put it into the pan and baked without the baking soda or powder. It rose the perfect amount and tastes delicious. Best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made. Thank you!!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, would this turn out without the sugars? Is there a suitable substitute?
I don’t think it would be very tasty without the sugar. You may be able to decrease the amount and it be ok, but not sure about substitutions for this particular recipe.
If I were to use Kamut flour, what would the measurements be, instead of 2 cups of AP flour, please.
I’ve never tried this recipe with Kamut, but according to google ¾ cup Kamut flour replaces 1 cup all-purpose. So 1.5 cups of Kamut should work. I would love to know if this works for you.
Hi there Lisa, this looks great! I hope to try it! I say try because I have 5 kids 8 years and under and I have a hard time getting things done even without kids – lol. Anyway, 2 questions; 1) I have only ever fed my starter with spelt, I have used it with spelt/einkorn mixed bread, which it has worked well for, do you think it would work well to ferment with the AP flour too? I know it would add a flavor, but I wanted to know if you think it would work as far as rising/fermenting?
2) If long fermenting, what ingredients would you include/exclude for that process? I have at times excluded the extra rising agents (baking powder or soda) until after bulk fermentation – but I don’t have a lot of experience, so I’d like to know what you would recommend. Thank you for your time and great recipes Lisa! 😊
Hi Amanda. Any of those flours will work. I use AP flour to feed my starter all the time. The long fermenting recipe process is in the post above the recipe card. You can add the eggs before the fermentation or after depending on your comfort level. I usually wait to add the rising agents until after fermentation. Hope that helps!
Have you made this recipe with fresh-milled flour? If so, which wheat berry did you use? Thanks!
Hard white berries will work!
Soft white berries would work too, I prefer soft white wheat in baked goods Mike muffins and pancakes. It’s a bit less dense.
Making this to put in fridge tonight and bake tomorrow, if it comes out good I’m going to make it again for a church Fall Festival this weekend ! I love pumpkin everything.😁
Wonderful! Hope you enjoy.
Love the recipe! And where did you get the really cute bread pan? I’ve never seen those before.
Thank you. It’s about 10 years old so I’m sure it’s not available anymore! Sorry!
Hi Lisa would this work with gf sourdough discard
Most likely. Not sure it would work with gf flour though.
I have been waiting for you to post a pumpkin sourdough bread recipe like this! Make a bunch of homemade pumpkin purée and so excited to make this today! Thank you!
Perfect timing! Enjoy.