Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Pumpkin Loaves
TikTok user Cottage Loaves
Notes
Do not use flour to knead or handle the dough until it is time to preshape it. Until then, wet your hands with filtered water when handling the dough to prevent sticking.
Ingredients
- For the Starter
2 ounces active sourdough starter
1/4 cup water, filtered
1/4 cup flour
- For the Dough
1 1/4 cups filtered water
4 cups all-purpose or bread flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- For the Shaping:
1/2 cup flour + 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Directions
- In a small glass container, whisk starter with water until thoroughly combined.
- Add flour to the water and starter mixture, stirring with a fork or your hands until the ingredients are just fully incorporated.
- Cover and set on the counter for about 12 hours, or until the starter has doubled in size.
- When the starter has doubled, mix in the water required for the dough recipe until the starter has dissolved, then add the rest of the flour and pumpkin spice seasoning. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rest for 30-45 minutes.
- After resting, wet your hands and knead the dough in the bowl for 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested, add salt, then stretch and fold at least twice.
Cover again, and let rest for an hour. - Repeat another round of stretch and folds, then cover again and rest for an hour (rest time can vary depending on your kitchen temperature).
- When the dough is about 1.5 times its size, carefully remove it from the bowl, place on a lightly floured countertop, and form it into a ball.
- Weigh the ball of dough, and divide it into two equal parts.
- Preshape your dough balls into boules, and let rest for a few minutes before doing a final shaping.
- Once the preshaped mound has rested, carefully pick it up from the surface using a bench scraper and turn it upside down onto a floured countertop, so that the smooth side of the dough is down and the sticky side is facing up.
- With well-floured hands, lightly knead the dough by tucking the sides in and rolling it onto itself until a smooth ball of dough has formed.
- Line a clean bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and dust the inside generously with flour.
- Carefully transfer the kneaded dough into the floured bowl seam side up, and cover with a new kitchen towel.
- Place bowl in a draft-free location and allow to rest for another hour until it has increased to about 1.5 times its size.
- While the dough is proofing, or resting for its final rise before baking, cut butcher’s twine into four 24-inch pieces.
- Once the dough has finished its proof, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a Dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot with a heat-safe lid in the oven to heat up while you prepare your bread for baking.
- In the proofing bowl, dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
- Lay eight pieces of butcher’s twine over the top of the bowl, so that there are eight equal segments, like a pizza.
- Carefully turn the bowl, including the twine, upside down onto a piece of parchment paper, so that the dough is now resting on top of the twine.
- Dust the exposed side of the dough generously with flour.
- Tie each segment of the butcher’s twine with the segment directly across from it, with the knot in the center, facing you. Cut any excess string.
- Using a sharp knife or blade, gently slice small lines down each segment of dough, as seen in the above photos.
- Carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven, and place both the parchment paper and the dough inside (move the dough by carrying parchment paper, not by picking it up with your hands or bench scraper). Cover with a lid, and place back in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the lid, and bake for another 15-17 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. You can also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. If it has reached 208°F (97°C), it is done.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and allow to cool completely before removing twine.
- When the bread is fully cooled, place a cinnamon stick in the center, and cut into segments for easy serving.
Information
- Category
- Appetizers, Breads/Crackers
- Yield
- 2 Small Loaves
- Prep Time
- 12 hours
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Total Time
- 12 hours, 39 minutes, 59 seconds