This sourdough discard pumpkin bread recipe was the first autumn recipe on my blog, published several years ago. I have since updated the recipe and photographs for the upcoming season! This delicious pumpkin loaf is the perfect way to use sourdough discard and enjoy all the seasonal flavors of autumn. I love to have a slice with a cup of coffee in the morning, serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or turn it into French toast!
As I’m writing this, it’s the first official day of autumn, and I’ve been patiently waiting to break out the pumpkin and warming spices since the first day of September. But per my usual tradition, I hold off decorating, baking, and getting into the fall spirit until after the autumn equinox (Sept 22 this year). There are many reasons why I do this, but chiefly because I am striving to live in the moment and enjoy the seasons for as long as they last. I call this seasonal living.
When I slow down enough to enjoy the unique delights of each season, I become more observant, relaxed, patient, and appreciative of everything around me. “Beauty will save the world” is one of my favorite quotes from Fyodor Dostoevsky. In the past few years, I’ve realized that I cannot allow beauty to heal me when I am rushed and exhausted because I don’t have the capacity to see or feel it. When I slow down and notice the seasonality of life I am thereby transformed by the ever-changing beauty of it.
“Beauty will save the world”
-Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Supplies and Ingredients you will need
Supplies
Ingredients
- Organic, unbleached bread flour
- Sourdough Starter
- You can find all the ingredients for my sourdough discard pumpkin bread recipe at Azure Standard, my favorite place to buy bulk baking supplies
Fermenting sourdough discard pumpkin bread
While it is not an active sourdough starter recipe, I do recommend you ferment your loaf a little bit before baking. This allows the gluten to break down and the flavors to develop before you bake. As a result, you can expect a better rise, more flavor, and greater digestion benefits from your sourdough discard pumpkin bread. It does not matter how long you ferment this loaf, anywhere between 1 and 8 hours is fine. I like to mix up the loaf in the morning, ferment during the day and bake in the afternoon. Or you can mix up right before bed, ferment all night, and bake in the morning.
Why use sourdough discard?
This recipe is a great way to use discard instead of throwing it away. A sourdough starter that has not been fed for a few days is perfect to discard in this recipe. Don’t forget that the longer it has been since feeding your starter, the more tangy your discard will taste in a recipe. That being said, discard provides this loaf with great flavor, moisture, and texture. To learn more about sourdough starter, check out this blog to learn more.
Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white or cane sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste You can also use vanilla extract
- 15 oz can organic pumpkin puree 1 1/2 cups if roasting and pureeing your own
- 150 grams sourdough discard 1/2 cup
- 1-2 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, butter, then flour, respectively
- Cream butter and sugars until one cohesive mixture
- Add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated
- Whip the mixture until light and airy
- Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in a seperate bowl
- Combine pumpkin puree, sourdough starter, and vanilla in another small bowl
- While mixing the butter mixture, alternate between adding the dry and wet mixtures until everything is just incorporated
- Pour batter into an 8.5 x 4 inch loaf pan that is lined with parchment paper
- Cover and rest/rise the dough for a few hours. You can bake immediately if you like, but resting the dough will allow it to ferment and the flavors to develop!
- Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds in one layer on top of the dough
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Let bread completely cool in the pan on a wire rack
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