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.

overhead photo of a slice of sourdough pumpkin bread on a cream colored plate with a fork on a white and blue stripped towel. A cutting board with the rest of the loaf and slices and a stick of butter with a vintage knife is behind the plate

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 breadpumpkin 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.

overhead photo of sourdough pumpkin bread in a cream stone loaf pan on a white and blue stripped towel

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.

sourdough pumpkin bread sliced on top of a parchment paper on a wood cutting board

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.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

sourdough pumpkin bread with two slices laying on a wood cutting board with an apple and bear in the back right corner
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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

close up picture of a slice of sourdough pumpkin bread on a cream colored plate on a white and blue stripped towel with a wood cutting board in the background

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. 

flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice in a glass bowl

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.

pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, butter, sourdough starter, and vanilla in a stand mixer bow

Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter to the brown sugar and butter. Mix until well combined.

flour being added into wet ingredients in a stand mixer bowl

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.

overhead photo of a loaf of sourdough pumpkin bread in a parchment lined stone bread pan on top of a blue and white stripped towel on a wood table

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:

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

4.53 from 116 votes
A fall favorite, this homemade sourdough pumpkin bread is a sweet and quick bread full of pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree and tangy sourdough starter.
Prep: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 12
overhead photo of a loaf of sourdough pumpkin bread in a parchment lined stone bread pan on top of a blue and white stripped towel on a wood table
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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

Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 436mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 5048IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.53 from 116 votes (102 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




81 Comments

  1. Linda says:

    Easy to make. My kitchen smelled of fall! Pumpkin and spice! So good!

  2. Gabby Doeringer says:

    5 stars
    Perfect everytime! Our family uses whole wheat flour and cuts the sugar to 1/3 of the amount and still turns out great. I’ve gotten so many compliments from friends on this being some of the best pumpkin bread they’ve had. Thanks Lisa for the great recipes!!

  3. Jana says:

    5 stars
    I just made this recipe as a Bundt cake! So pleased with it! Wondering if you could use the same recipe only as banana bread (leaving out the pumpkin spice). Has anyone tried that??

  4. Carole says:

    Doubled rec. really good but took an extra 25 min to fully bake. Added a bit more cinnamon too. I added cinnamon brandy soaked raisins( drained of course)Sourdough discard is wonderful in this bread!

  5. Rachel Kolis says:

    The white sugar is left out of the instructions for the long-ferment option, just fyi 🙂 Looking forward to tasting it, looks yummy!

  6. Lori Harper says:

    Would this recipe work without the eggs? Unfortunately, we have a family member who is allergic.

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      Yes, you can use an egg replacement.

  7. Kelly says:

    Hi! So I’ve been making a number of your quick bread recipes recently and I truly love them! Unfortunately at the end of the allotted baking time my loaf always seems to need almost another 20 min of bake time to have a knife come out clean. I know it could just be my oven but is there maybe a lower temperature that I could bake it at for longer? I hate having the ends of the loaf be totally over baked, thanks!

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      Yes. You could try around 425 for a bit longer! Maybe that will help you.

  8. Natalie says:

    5 stars
    LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!! I leave out the 1/4 cup of white sugar to decrease sugar content, and it still turns out great. I also add an extra teaspoon of cinnamon. I do an 8-12 hour ferment with sleepy, unfed, refrigerated starter. For my starter, this is usually enough to be able to bake it without adding any other leavening agent, but I go ahead and add the baking soda and baking powder so as not to risk it.

    Added chocolate chips once but I honestly prefer it without, which is shocking coming from this chocolate-lover!

  9. Mardell says:

    5 stars
    This recipe turned out so well! I didn’t make the long fermented version, but nonetheless, it is the most flavorful pumpkin bread I have ever made, andxI have been baking for decades. Thank you, Lisa, this recipe is a keeper.

  10. Krista Belcastro says:

    5 stars
    We love this recipe! Have made it 5 times now and it’s always a hit in our house.