Anita Šumer’s Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

Perfect for autumn, this sourdough bread incorporates pumpkin purée, making an already delicious bread even softer and tastier.

Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

Leavener:

10 g active starter (2.5%)
40 g strong white (type 812) flour (10%)
40 g water (10%)
Mix the ingredients, cover and wait until doubled in size.

Main Dough:

200 g baked pumpkin flesh (50%)
350 g strong white (type 812) flour (87.5%)
50 g wholemeal spelt flour (12.5%)
250 g water (62.5%)
8 g salt (2%)

Method:

Add 100g water to the cooked pumpkin flesh and purée in a food processor. Then add the flour and gradually add 120g of water. Leave to rest, covered, for 30 minutes, then add the leaven and salt. When the dough can absorb a little water again, add the remaining 30g of water.

After a brief rest, knead well two or three times for 2-3 minutes. Over the next 2 hours, make four sets of stretches and folds. Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size, then form a large pumpkin shape or several smaller ones.

Leave to rise and bake in a preheated oven at 240 °C (464°F) for about 30-40 minutes depending on the oven. First 15 minutes with steam, and then without it. The dough will be a little soft and sticky, which is quite normal.

Tips:
For the pumpkin, bake the pumpkin slices in the oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for about 1 hour, covered for the first 30 minutes, then uncovered. From 400g of pumpkin slices I got about 200g of baked pumpkin flesh after baking.

You can shape only one large pumpkin or several small ones. In each case, tie the dough after shaping or before baking with twine to get a pumpkin shape. To do this tie four pieces of butcher’s string together in the middle, spread them apart, place a loaf in the middle and gently tie over. You can also use this dough for hamburger buns.

From the book Sourdough Mania, Complete Guide To Sourdough Baking, Copyright © 2020 by Anita Šumer, Grub Street Cookery.

About The Book:

Anita Šumer is a passionate, self-taught, 100% sourdough baker and teacher, based in Slovenia who has become an international sensation. In 2017, she published her unique sourdough book in her native Slovenia, which has now been published in German, Dutch, French, Croatian, and English.

The book features both simple-to-make recipes and more ambitious recipes for more festive occasions. Every stage is fully illustrated with step-by-step photography on weighing, mixing, kneading, shaping, scoring, and baking, to take you on a journey to the healthy world of sourdough baking made easy.