Name: Sourdough Pumpkin Milk Bread
Prep time: 480 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 507 min
Ingredients: 10 grams active sourdough starter; 50 grams pumpkin puree; 5 grams brown sugar; 50 grams all-purpose flour (11.7% protein); 50 grams half & half; 55 grams brown sugar; 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 57 grams unsalted butter (sliced into thin pats); 180 grams pumpkin puree; 280 grams all-purpose flour (11.7% protein); 6 grams kosher salt; All of the pumpkin starter; Neutral oil for dough handling; Extra half & half (milk or egg wash)

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If you’re more into bread than lattes but still want a little pumpkin spice in your life, skip the PSL and make this sourdough pumpkin milk bread instead! Soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet with that signature pumpkin spice flavor and a gorgeous orange color from the pumpkin puree, this one is hard to skip.

A loaf of sourdough pumpkin milk bread on a wooden board.

This loaf really kicked my butt, but after 7 test loaves, it’s finally perfect. I really wanted to load it up with lots of pumpkin so my hydration was all off for weeks. I had to go back to my notebook and calculator 🤣…

I should have done my homework way earlier cuz once I sat down and did a proper hydration ratio calculation instead of just throwing stuff into the bowl, the situation was remedied quickly. I really hope you like this sourdough pumpkin bread!

Key ingredients

Ingredients for sourdough pumpkin milk bread.

🎃 Needless to say, pumpkin puree is key in this recipe. No need to roast a fresh pumpkin and puree your own, the canned stuff will do just fine! 🤪

Other key ingredients…

pumpkin pie spice – pumpkin puree by itself is not going to create that signature autumn pumpkin flavor that you love, so you’re gonna need 1 teaspoon of this stuff to create that cozy fall falvor. I usually use my own mix of spices, but store bought is just fine too.
half & half – since most of the liquid in this loaf is pumpkin, which is 90% water, it is not as rich as my signature sourdough milk bread.That’s why I opted for half & half instead of just milk to make it just a little bit richer. But milk OR cream will work as a substitution here.
brown sugar – I like pairing brown sugar with pumpkin for a little more flavor depth. Note that I’m using more sugar in this recipe so it will be a little sweeter than my signature loaf. Granulated sugar will work just fine here.

Sample baking schedule

This pumpkin milk bread is a same day bake but you still need to prepare your sourdough starter the day before. The schedule below accounts for that. Remember that the timeline is my best estimate to give you an idea what to consider when you bake this loaf. Time will vary depending on how long your starter typically takes to peak, the temperature the day you’re baking which will affect how quickly or slowly your starter and bread rise.

You can also split this bake into 2 days if you wish. You just need to add the cold fermentation step by putting your dough into the fridge after you finish your third stretch and fold and the dough has mostly finished bulk fermentation.

Day 1
7:00 AM	Feed your regular sourdough starter
7:00 PM	Make pumpkin starter with active starter
Day 2
8:00 AM	Scald half and half & prepare liquid
8:15 AM	Autolyse
8:35 AM	Knead the dough
9:00 AM	Continue bulk fermentation
9:45 AM	Stretch and fold #1
10:30AM	Stretch and fold #2
11:15AM	Stretch and fold #3 + continue bulk (or put in fridge if you want to continue next day)
12:00PM	Finish bulk + divide dough
12:15PM	Shape into logs
12:30PM	Proof
3:30 PM	Bake

Let’s make sourdough pumpkin bread!

1. Make pumpkin sourdough starter (night before)

This starter is pretty stiff so it might be easier to mix it in a bowl rather than a jar. I still like to transfer it to my Ball jar to let it rise so I can see how much it has grown.

NOTE: Make sure you have an active regular sourdough starter before making this pumpkin starter.

Scalding half and half with sugar and spices; melt butter; mix with pumpkin.

2. Prepare your liquid

I like blooming the pumpkin pie spice in the hot liquid to release its flavor. Once you scald the half and half with sugar and spices, the mixture should be hot enough to melt the butter, but if not, you can put it back on the stove. Then once you mix it with the pumpkin, the whole thing should be cool enough to start autolyse but if not, let it cool a bit more.

Add flour and salt to pumpkin mixture; mix into a shaggy dough.

3. “Autolyse”

Mix together flour, salt and the cooled pumpkin mixture, cover and let this rest for 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: This is not a true autolyse since we are adding melted butter as well as salt to the mixture. However, I do find that this step, while short and non-traditional, helps with dough strength and extensibility in the stretch-and-fold steps. Without this “autolyse” step, the dough can break easily during stretch-and-fold.

Add pumpkin sourdough starter and knead into a dough.

4. Knead the dough

Add all of the pumpkin sourdough starter to the “autolysed” dough and knead with the dough hook for 20 minutes.

NOTE: This is also technically the start of bulk fermentation, as soon as you mix the starter into the dough.

Pumpkin milk bread dough in a blue glass bowl.

5. Continue bulk fermentation

This dough is quite slack, so I would definitely use a bit of oil on your hand and your bowl scraper to prevent sticking while scraping the dough out and forming a ball. Don’t add more flour or you will risk drying out your loaf.

Stretching and folding sourdough pumpkin bread dough.

6. Stretches and folds

During bulk fermentation, you will perform 3 sets of stretch-and-fold to add strength to your dough at 45-minute intervals. Once you are finish with your last set, cover and let the dough finish bulk fermentation at room temp.

NOTE: You will notice the dough rising quite a bit during this step. That’s okay, don’t worry about deflating it. You want to build strength in this step and this dough can use it because it is so slack. It will continue to rise and you will notice it gets harder to pull and stretch during set 2 and 3.

Cutting pumpkin bread dough into 3 and roll into balls.

7. Divide the dough

Cut the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll them into smooth balls, cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before shaping.

NOTE: The dough shouldn’t be very sticky anymore. You can use just a bit of oil to keep it from sticking to your surface and hand. I love using a silicone baking mat for this part and also I’ve recently started using vinyl gloves – they’re super nonstick!

Rolling out sourdough pumpkin milk bread dough and rolling into a log.

8. Shape into logs

Shape each ball into a log like so and place them into your loaf pan.

Sourdough pumpkin milk bread before and after proofing.

9. Proof the dough

Proof the dough for 3-5 hours. The dough is ready when it is very puffy, has risen well above the rim of the loaf pan, and a gentle press leaves an indentation that slowly springs back (but not immediately).

NOTE: Proofing time is highly dependent on temperature so make sure to pay attention to visual cues. This dough is less enriched so it will proof faster.

10. Bake

Brush milk or egg wash (if you want shinier crust) generously over the surface of your dough and bake at 400°F (205°C) for 7 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 20 minutes. Total bake time is about 27 minutes. The internal temperature of your bread should reach 190 – 200°F. Let cool completely before cutting into it.

NOTE: The initial bake at 400°F will give you bread some oven spring helping it rise taller during the first few minutes. Then you want to bake it at a lower temperature to completely cook the inside. Don’t forget to lower the temp or your bread will be dry! (ask me how I know… 🥴)

Storage

Room temperature: you can store your sourdough pumpkin milk bread at room temperature for a couple days. Only slice off whatever you’re planning to eat to keep the moisture within the loaf. Store the bread in a ziploc bag. Since this loaf is homemade with no preservatives, I would keep it refrigerated to prevent spoiling if it lasts longer than 2-3 days.
Refrigerator: you can also keep your bread in the fridge for a couple weeks. Again, only slice what you need and keep it in a ziploc bag. It does dry out a bit the longer you store it, but will get softer in the toaster with cripsy exterior.
Freezer: for the freezer, I recommend slicing and then freezing. This way you can defrost only what you need when you need. Or freeze and thaw the whole loaf. Your bread should last up to 3 months. To preserve the flavor, wrap the loaf in foil as well as plastic and then store in a freezer bag.

Just so you know, leftover sourdough pumpkin milk bread is perfect for pumpkin bread pudding! It’s also really good toasted with butter, and I haven’t tried this but I’d imagine it would go well with pumpkin butter and as french toast too.