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This pumpkin sourdough bread is a naturally leavened artisan loaf made with active sourdough starter and real pumpkin purée. Pumpkin and a touch of honey give the crumb a beautiful golden colour and soft texture, while the crust stays crisp and chewy.
You can make it with canned or homemade pumpkin purée, and despite the extra moisture from the pumpkin, I’ll show you exactly how to judge the dough through bulk fermentation so you can bake a beautifully risen loaf.
This isn’t a sweet pumpkin quick bread, it’s a true sourdough loaf that’s just as good alongside dinner as it is toasted with butter the next morning.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
- Ingredients
- Choosing the Best Pumpkin Purée
- How Pumpkin Changes Sourdough Hydration
- How To Make Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
- A Flexible Pumpkin Sourdough Baking Timeline
- Flavor Variations
- What Does Sourdough Pumpkin Bread Taste Like?
- How To Store and Freeze
- Artisan Pumpkin Sourdough Bread Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
- True Sourdough Bread – This loaf is naturally leavened with an active sourdough starter. There’s no commercial yeast, baking powder or baking soda. If you’re looking for a soft, sweet, cake-style pumpkin bread that uses sourdough discard and can be mixed and baked straight away, you’ll want my Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread instead.
- Real Pumpkin – 200 g of pumpkin purée gives the crumb beautiful colour, subtle pumpkin flavour and extra softness.
- Sweet or Savory – There’s just enough honey to complement the pumpkin without turning this into a sweet loaf. It’s fantastic with butter, grilled cheese or alongside a bowl of soup.
- Flexible Schedule – Let the dough guide your bulk fermentation, then use the cold proof to pause the process and fit sourdough baking around your schedule.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter – You’ll need an active, bubbly sourdough starter that has been fed and is at or close to its peak.
- Water – The amount of water you need can vary slightly depending on the moisture content of your pumpkin purée. I’ve included more guidance on this below.
- Honey – This recipe uses just a little honey to balance out the pumpkin. It contributes to the color of the crust once baked and gives just a hint of sweetness. You can of course leave it out if you prefer, but I urge you to try it! If you can’t eat honey, maple syrup makes a good substitution.
- Pumpkin Purée – You can use store-bought canned pumpkin puree or homemade. I’ve added notes further down to help you use what you have on hand with success. The added pumpkin in this loaf creates a tender crumb wrapped up in a crispy, golden crust with a gorgeous pumpkin hue.
- Bread Flour – A strong bread flour gives this softer pumpkin dough the structure it needs. I recommend using flour with at least 12% protein.
- Salt – Adds flavour and helps strengthen the dough during fermentation.
Choosing the Best Pumpkin Purée
You can use either canned or homemade pumpkin purée in this recipe. Whichever you choose, the most important thing is the consistency: Your pumpkin purée should be thick enough to sit on a spoon rather than pour from it.
Canned pumpkin is the easiest and most consistent option because it generally contains less water than homemade purée. Just make sure you’re using plain pumpkin purée rather than pumpkin pie filling.
When I first created this recipe, I used homemade pumpkin purée because we grow pumpkins and canned pumpkin wasn’t readily available where I live. If you’re making your own, I recommend roasting the pumpkin rather than boiling or steaming it. Roasting concentrates the flavour and produces a thicker purée without introducing extra water. Once the pumpkin is soft, mash or blend it until smooth, then allow it to cool completely. If the purée seems watery, drain away the excess liquid or let it sit in a fine sieve before weighing the amount you need.
When I updated this recipe in August 2026, I retested it using canned pumpkin because it’s now more readily available. I’m happy to say that the recipe will work just as well no matter when you used canned or homemade pumpkin. But just know that homemade pumpkin purée can vary considerably in moisture content, so your dough may feel a little softer depending on the pumpkin you’ve used. If you’re unsure, hold back a small amount of the recipe water when you first mix the dough. You can always add it if the dough needs it.
How Pumpkin Changes Sourdough Hydration
Pumpkin purée contributes moisture to your dough, but it can’t be treated in the same way as water. Pumpkin contains both water and solids, and its moisture content can vary considerably depending on whether you’re using canned or homemade purée.
I’ve made this recipe so many times over the 5 years (it really is a family favorite). When I first developed this recipe in October 2020, I used 200 grams of pumpkin purée and 280 grams of water. I really liked the consistency of this dough, however, I know many people struggled with it. I’ve updated this recipe in August 2026 and in this update I retested many different water and pumpkin puree ratios. After rigorous testing, I found that 200 grams of water and 200 grams of pumpkin puree was the sweet spot. It produces a dough that’s easy to work with (even for a beginner) and a finished artisan pumpkin sourdough loaf that features a golden, blistered crust and soft, aerated crumb. When the dough has finished stretch and folds it should feel soft and elastic, and most importantly, manageable, rather than soupy or shapeless.
Your dough may feel slightly different depending on whether you use canned or homemade pumpkin purée, but this ratio gives you enough flexibility to accommodate those small variations. Don’t automatically add extra flour just because the dough feels softer than your regular sourdough. If the dough feels too stiff to stretch and fold comfortably, wet your hands slightly rather than adding more water directly to the dough.
Kate’s Pro Tip
What should pumpkin sourdough dough feel like?
After your stretch and folds, the dough should feel soft, elastic and aerated while still holding its shape. It may feel softer than your regular sourdough, but it shouldn’t be soupy or spread uncontrollably.
How To Make Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Making this artisan pumpkin sourdough bread is closely aligned with making a plain loaf, except that you’re adding both pumpkin puree and honey to the initial mix.
Initial Mix and Rest
To fermentolyse the dough, you’ll need to mix the water, sourdough starter and honey together, before adding the pumpkin puree, flour and salt and bringing it all together into a shaggy dough.
Once the dough has rested for around an hour, you’ll need to start strengthening the dough by bringing it together into a smoother dough. Let it rest again before officially starting the stretch and folds.
Stretch and Folds
You should aim to do around 4 sets of stretch and folds. The dough should become increasingly aerated and elastic as you move through each set.
Kate’s Pro Tip
How Do I Know When Bulk Fermentation Is Finished?
Cover the dough and let it bulk ferment at room temperature until it’s time to shape the dough. Don’t shape this dough because a set number of hours has passed. You’re looking for the dough to have increased significantly in volume. I generally allow mine to roughly double, with a slightly domed surface, bubbles around the edges and a light, aerated, jiggly feel. You can read my guide to understanding when bulk fermentation is finished.
Do I Have To Shape Pumpkin Sourdough Like A Pumpkin?
Absolutely not! Many people like to make this sourdough bread into the actual shape of a pumpkin. I’m not one of those people. I prefer the practicality of a batard for slicing and toasting and find that we eat a lot more of the bread when it is shaped in this way. But if pumpkin shaped sourdough is your thing, I say go for it!
For something festive, perhaps the centre of your Thanksgiving table, you could use a couronne banneton to shape your pumpkin sourdough bread. This will give you a beautiful wreath shaped pumpkin bread.
How To Bake Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
Bake this loaf straight from the refrigerator while the dough is cold. Turn it out of the banneton, score and place it into your preheated Dutch oven. I like to bake my artisan sourdough pumpkin loaf in a cast iron bread pan for the most beautifully chewy, golden crust. Bake covered initially to trap steam, then remove the lid to allow the beautiful golden pumpkin crust to develop.
The loaf is ready when the crust is deeply golden and crisp and the bread feels light for its size. Allow it to cool completely before slicing to avoid the bread collapsing under your knife.e page.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Bake In A Loaf Pan!
This artisan sourdough pumpkin bread also works very well when baked in a loaf pan. To do this, cold ferment the loaf in an oval banneton and tip it into a loaf pan when you’re ready to bake. A second loaf pan placed on top will give you the best results.
A Flexible Pumpkin Sourdough Baking Timeline
I’ve put together this sample timeline to help you get a feel for how you could fit this artisan sourdough pumpkin loaf into your schedule. This is only an example. Your fermentation time will depend on your starter strength, dough temperature and room temperature.
| TIME | PROCESS |
|---|---|
| 10 pm | FRIDAY NIGHT Feed sourdough starter 1:3:3 before bed to ensure it’s at peak when you get up. |
| 7am | SATURDAY MORNING Initial fermentolyse and dough rest. |
| 9 am | Conduct 4 sets of stretch and folds over the next 2 hours or so (doesn’t have to be exact). |
| 11:30 am | Cover the sourdough and allow to bulk ferment until the dough has doubled. |
| 7 pm | Shape the dough, place into a banneton and place into the refrigerator covered to cold ferment. |
| 9 am | SUNDAY MORNING Wake up and preheat the oven while you make coffee. |
| 9:45 am | Bake the sourdough bread until golden brown. |
Need to bake later? Once the dough is shaped and in the refrigerator, the cold proof gives you some flexibility over when you bake your loaf.
Flavor Variations
This pumpkin sourdough bread is delicious just as it is, but it also works beautifully with both sweet and savory additions. If this is your first time making the recipe, I recommend baking the base loaf without any additions first. Pumpkin purée already changes the way the dough feels and ferments, so keeping the first loaf simple will give you a much better sense of how the dough should behave.
Additions to Mix Into the Dough
- Fresh Herbs – Rosemary or thyme pair beautifully with pumpkin and keep the loaf firmly in the savory camp. I generally add the herbs during shaping, rather than while the loaf is fermenting.
- Cheese – 100-150 g of grated cheddar or Parmesan can turn this into a richer, savory loaf that is especially good alongside soup. I add the cheese during the second and third sets of stretch and folds.
- Seeds or Nuts – Up to 100 g of pepitas (pumpkin seeds), walnuts or pecans add texture and a little extra flavor. Toasting them first will give you an even nuttier result (just remember to ensure they’ve fully cooled before adding them to your loaf). I add these during the second and third sets of stretch and folds.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Swirl – Optional Sweet Variation
If you’d prefer to take this loaf in a sweeter direction, you can add pumpkin pie spice to the dough. I prefer to keep the base recipe only lightly sweet so it still feels like a true artisan sourdough bread, rather than a sweet pumpkin quick bread. If pumpkin spice is your thing, I recommend adding it during shaping – mix together 50 g of brown sugar, 5 g of pumpkin spice and 20 g of all-purpose flour and sprinkle this over the dough during shaping. You can use this sourdough cinnamon swirl loaf as inspiration.
Toppings for Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Toppings are an easy way to add flavour and texture without changing the dough itself. To help toppings stick, lightly mist or dampen the surface of the shaped dough before rolling or pressing it into your chosen topping, or sprinkle them into the base of your banneton before laying the shaped loaf on top.
Some of my favorite toppings for this loaf include pepitas, rolled oats, black or white sesame seeds and Everything Bagel seasoning.
What Does Sourdough Pumpkin Bread Taste Like?
This pumpkin sourdough is primarily a savory loaf, with just a touch of sweetness from the honey. The pumpkin adds softness and subtle earthy flavour rather than making the bread sweet. Unless you add pumpkin spice, cinnamon or other sweet inclusions, it works beautifully as an everyday savory sourdough.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some of the ways we use this bread:
- Toasted and spread with cultured butter.
- Made into an amazing sourdough grilled cheese.
- Served alongside pumpkin or tomato soup.
- Topped with poached eggs and tomato chutney.
- Added to a holiday bread basket alongside sourdough dinner rolls.
- Used for leftover turkey sandwiches.
- Toasted and spread with spiced pumpkin cream cheese.
How To Store and Freeze
Like most artisan sourdough loaves, this pumpkin sourdough bread freezes beautifully! I love making a double batch so there’s always one in the freezer. Remember that you can click on 2x in the recipe card below and it will automatically double the recipe for you.
Room Temperature – Store this sourdough pumpkin loaf under a glass cloche for 24 hours if you’re using as fresh sourdough. After this, it’s best toasted or warmed in the oven.
Freezer – Freeze the loaf whole or sliced for up to 3 months. I prefer freezing it sliced so I can take out exactly what I need and toast it straight from frozen. If I’m freezing the whole loaf, I place the cooled loaf into a resealable plastic bag. If I’ve sliced the loaf, I place pieces of parchment paper between each slice first.
Artisan Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Banneton
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 100 g Sourdough Starter , (active and bubbly)
- 200 g Pumpkin Purée
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 200 g Water
- 20 g Honey
- 10 g Salt
Instructions
- FermentolyseWeigh out your sourdough starter, water and honey in a glass bowl. Mix them together so that the honey is dissolved in the water (or at least really well distributed).Then add your flour, pumpkin puree and salt on top and mix together to form a shaggy dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for around an hour.
- Forming Up Your DoughWork your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-25 folds to form the ball. Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, cover again and let it rest for around 30 minutes.
- Stretch & FoldsAt this stage, you need to create some structure to your bread and help the gluten to develop by stretching and folding the dough. Try to do around 4 sets of stretch and folds with around 15 to 30 minutes between each set.
- Bulk FermentOnce you've finished your stretch and folds, cover the dough and let it bulk ferment at room temperature until the dough has doubled.
- Shaping Your DoughOnce your dough has doubled, you'll need to shape the dough, creating plenty of surface tension. Place dough seam side up into a well floured banneton.
- Cold FermentCover the shaped dough and place into the fridge to cold ferment. Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours up to a maximum of around 36 hours. The longer you leave it the better your bread will be!
- Preparing to BakeOnce you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230ºC/450ºF with your Dutch oven inside.
- Baking Your SourdoughNow it's time to bake! When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of parchment paper.Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife before placing it into a hot Dutch oven. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. BAKE TIME:30 Minutes with the lid on at 230ºC/450ºF plus10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210ºC/410ºF
- Finishing Your BakeWhen you remove your sourdough pumpkin loaf from the oven, carefully remove it from the Dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Could this recipe be made gluten free and dairy free? If so, what ingredients would need to be replaced? How would the steps change?
This recipe is dairy free as written, but I’m not sure this particular recipe could easily be made gluten free. You could try a 1:1 gluten free flour replacement, but they typically aren’t a 1:1 substitute as they claim – especially as a sub for bread flour. We haven’t tried making this one gluten free. If you do, please come back and let us know how it worked.
Could I use maple syrup instead of honey? If so, same amount?
Maple syrup should work. I’d use the same amount as honey. 🙂
I had a busy weekend and forgot to bake my pumpkin loaf. It’s been in the fridge since Friday evening (today is Monday evening) is it still safe to bake or should I toss it?
I just made my first loaf and ir was quite sticky to shape. It would smooth up nicely with stretch and folds. I bulk fermented maybe 2 hours at 72 degrees. It was hard to do the touch team but when floored it seemed right. What may I be doing wrong!?
Hello! I am so excited to have found this recipe. Would I be able to add pumpkin spice to this recipe? If so, how much would you recommend adding?
That would be delicious! I would start with about 1.5g (1/2 teaspoon) and see how you like the flavor. Then adjust as needed. Please let us know how it goes. 🙂
I added the pumpkin pie spice and it was delicious!
I love pumpkin sourdough, but i’m trying to more whole grain. Could you substitute spelt or whole wheat for white here? If so would you recommend changing any quantities?
You can definitely use whole wheat flour. I would leave the hydration as it is, as it’s already quite high hydration. Spelt is a little different. I wouldn’t recommend spelt for this bread as it doesn’t absorb liquid the same way.
Replying to Terra Taylor’s question about using spelt flour – it’s great!
I had just finished shaping my dough when I saw your question & hoped I hadn’t made a mistake by freestyling a brand new recipe but it worked beautifully. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of using 100 g of stiff rye starter, 250 g of freshly ground spelt, and 250g Type 85 Malted Wheat flour (from Central Miling). The dough was a little drier than the photos probably due to the stiff starter & commercial canned pumpkin. I may have done an extra fold or two and made sure to shape gently because of the spelt. The loaf has a beautiful moist, springy texture but not too browned (maybe because of the spelt?). I’m going to try this recipe with 50% kamut (khorasan) flour next time! I’m now also a convert now to shaping before a long, cold ferment.
Hi! If I make this using your overnight method and decrease the starter to 50g, would I need to change the measurements of anything else?
No you can leave all the other measurements the same.
Do you think you could cold ferment for 48 hours or is that too long? Also how do you best store it? Thanks!
You can ferment for 48 hours, as long as your fridge is very cold and doesn’t allow the dough to rise.
Amazing recipe! It is the only recipe I use when I make a boule. It is so soft and moist and has a light soft crust.
This turned out absolutely perfectly, and you were right, the dough was so beautiful to work with. Really subtle on the pumpkin, but the result is a super soft loaf perfect for a sandwich loaf, but I still prefer a rustic loaf! Another great recipe from you! you’re my tried and trusted sourdough resource.
Perfect recipe! I added pumpkin pie spice and a ribbon of cinnamon/sugar. French toast in the extreme!
Dough just went in the fridge for the cold proof and I’m a little worried about how it’ll turn out 😂 I bake regular sourdough all the time and have learned that in my house with the ambient temperature at around 70 degrees, my dough is typically done bulk fermenting after about 5 hours. The recipe I typically use says to only let it get about 50-75% bigger, NOT doubled or else it’ll be overproofed. Since this was my first time making anything other than a straight sourdough, and because my house is a little warmer today (75 degrees) I followed the instructions and after the 4th stretch-and-fold checked the dough every half hour. After about 4 hours, it was doubled with bubbles on top and a jiggly center. I dumped it onto the counter and it promptly flattened to a pancake, and was SO sticky I couldn’t get any surface tension. I could barely even shape it. I managed to get it into the banneton, but I don’t have very high hopes for how it’ll bake up.
It’s about 2:30 pm and I’ll probably put it in the oven tomorrow morning around 7. Fingers crossed!
Can I use maple syrup or agave in place of raw unfiltered honey ?
Yes you can use maple syrup, use the same weight 🙂
A really lovely, easy & tasty bread. I loved the taste of the pumpkin without the sugar & spices. The color was beautiful! 😊
How much should the dough rise in the fridge? I can’t see this info in the recipe nor in another recipe where there’s a long proof in the fridge.
The dough shouldn’t rise in the fridge, the rise happens during bulk fermentation. You might find this article which explains bulk fermentation vs cold fermentation helpful 🙂
I’m not sure if this is a silly question or not, lucky I’m not afraid to ask 😆 can this be made using discard? If so, how would I go about this? Thank you in advance!
This particular recipe needs active sourdough starter because that’s what it’s using to leaven the dough 🙂 If you’re looking or a way to use your discard along with pumpkin puree, this sourdough pumpkin bread is perfect!
This is my second time making this bread! Thank you for the recipe… It is AMAZING! Still a sourdough newbie here – so quick question: I mixed up three loaves worth of dough in the same bowl. When is the best time to separate it into 3 portions of dough? Thanks so much for your help.
So glad you love the recipe! I would separate the dough just before shaping, so after bulk ferment, tip the dough out onto the counter and use a large dough scraper to cut it into three equal portions.
would you happen to have your conversion of grams to cups for the recipe
I only work in grams, using a kitchen scale is a much easier way to bake! You can see why I only use a kitchen scale in this article – why weighing ingredients for sourdough is so important.
I have made beautiful and delicious mini pumpkin breads of your recipe! The recipe makes 6 miniatures. I use chai tea instead of water, and the spice makes the perfect combination 🙂 Thank you for sharing, I use your recipes all the time.
Oh wow the chai tea sounds incredible!! Amazing 🙂
Tried this and loved it,makes excellent toast and I used for a grilled ham and cheese and was very tasty
Hi , may i know can i use Maple Syrup instead of honey for this recipe ?
Thank you .
Absolutely you can use maple syrup instead of honey 🙂
Hi!! Would i be able to add the pumpkin when im about to shape the dough?
No, the pumpkin needs to be added with the water as per the recipe, adding during shaping will result in a big mess 🙂
I have made this recipe 6 times now and it has been a perfect bake every time. I roasted a whole pumpkin and put puree in 200g bags in freezer. Thank you for a simple but reliable recipe.
Hi Kate
I have made several of your recipes and they were each a huge success. I want to make this for my mother-in-law who loves all things pumpkin and chocolate…can I add chocolate chips to this or will is be too much?
Thank you for making sourdough easier for us newcomers. A friend came over with her mature starter and introduced me to the world of sourdough and I’mhooked. You make it fun, creative, and accessible.
Thank you so much for your kind words, that made me smile so much! yes you can definitely add some chocolate chips to this, I’d add 100g 🙂 I hope your mother in law loves it! She might also enjoy these sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
This bread looks so good. Could you use butternut squash in this recipe?
Absolutely 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I used it (although I use freshly ground whole wheat flour instead of bread flour) and added 2t pumpkin spice with the flour, and 100g of dark chocolate chips + lined the banneton with pumpkin seeds. I’m now trying 50g of chocolate chips and 50g of toasted pecans 🙂
Have you tried a mix between this and your pecan maple recipe? Considering trying this to make it a little sweeter! Thanks for the great recipes.
I haven’t mixed them, but you definitely could! xo
Can you make this recipe as sandwich bread in a loaf pan by covering it with another loaf pan when baking ?
Absolutely you can do this 🙂