Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
This sourdough pumpkin bread is so moist and it's packed with delicious fall flavors! Pumpkin spice lovers unite!
This pumpkin bread is made with pumpkin puree, sourdough discard and a twist of orange juice for a brightened up version of the classic.
If you're like me, you don't want to waste any of your sourdough discard. I always keep a separate jar of it in my fridge to use in recipes like sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls, sourdough banana bread and sourdough banana nut muffins.
You'll love the flavor that your sourdough starter discard gives this pumpkin bread!
Because this is a quick bread recipe and we are using baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents, the sourdough discard is added for it's wonderful, tangy flavor!
Step by step instructions
This recipe couldn't be easier so let's jump right into the details!
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with butter or oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a bowl and add the sugar. Use a spatula to cream them together. Add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and stir until just combined. (Don't over mix!)
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before transferring the pumpkin bread to a wire rack.
Tips for success
When using baking soda and baking powder it's best to incorporated them into the dry ingredients before mixing everything together.
This will ensure that the leavening agents are not activated until mixed with the wet ingredients, right before they go into the oven.
Make sure that you use pumpkin puree. Some people make the mistake of using pumpkin pie filling which has extra ingredients.
The longer your sourdough discard has been in the fridge, "aging", the more flavor it will add to the bread!
Avoid over-mixing the batter when you combine the wet and dry ingredients so that the sourdough pumpkin bread will be nice and tender.
Don't have a kitchen scale to measure flour?
Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
Because flour is measured by weight in these recipes, if the flour is scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup, there will be more flour than is called for in the recipe.
When measuring ground spices like cinnamon, it's hard to weigh them with a scale because the measurement is so small. Use measuring spoons so that you don't add too much!
How to store and freeze leftovers
Store leftovers at room temperature for up to 4 days loosely covered.
Freeze sourdough pumpkin bread in slices, loaves or half loaves. After the bread has cooled completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then with foil. Keep frozen up to 3 months.
How to make pumpkin pie spice
Substitute ground cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice if you don't have any, or make your own!
Make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice by combining:
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1.5 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cloves
Mix in a small bowl and store in an air-tight container like this weck jar.
Other recipes you may like:
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comment section below!
Sourdough Pumpkin Bread Recipe
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
Wet Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter (discard)
- ¼ cup (60 g) fresh orange juice (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- 1 (15oz.) can (425 g) pumpkin puree
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C) and lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with butter or oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a bowl and add the sugar. Use a spatula to cream them together until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla extract, orange juice, sourdough discard and pumpkin and mix until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and stir until just combined. (Don't over mix!)
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before transferring the pumpkin bread to a wire rack.
NOTES
- Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
- Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze leftovers wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil for up to 3 months.
- When measuring ground spices, it's hard to use a scale to weigh them because the measurement is so small. Use measuring spoons so that you don't add too much.
I LOVED the flavor of this recipe. It did take me 70 minutes to get it mostly baked through, and it's still a little dense/wet in the middle, though it passes the toothpick test. Wondering if I did a poor job measuring the flour, and if more flour would help absorb some of the excess moisture?
I love this blog and every single recipe I've made here has turned out with success. Thank you for keeping me inspired with my sourdough adventures!
This recipe looks great, but I’m wondering how much I can decrease the brown sugar without ruining the recipe? I made a sourdough banana bread over the weekend. I went from brown sugar 225 grams to 175 grams. It was still too sweet. I also went from 1/2 cup oil to 1/3 cup. I know it’s an experiment but what do you think?
Delicious bread! I cut sugar to 250 grams. Baked for 60 min and probably could have added another 5+ minutes - but it’s so good!
I doubled the recipe. It is without a doubt the best pumpkin bread I have ever made. Usually I top my pumpkin bread with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Totally not necessary as this was amazing as is. Much less dense then most pumpkin breads
Super delicious! Love the taste and texture. I used half whole wheat flour just because I like to and it turned out perfect. Thanks!
I made this recipe but as muffins and it turned out amazing such yummy flavor texture was fluffy and moist will definitely make again
So delicious! I split this between two (2) loaf pans, added some chia seeds, and it came out great.
I made this today following the directions to a T. I used cake release, let the loaf bake for 55 minutes and it slid out so easy after cooling for 15 minutes. Once it was completely cooled, I sliced it and it was cooked so perfectly. At first I thought it may not have been sweet enough but it was just right. It was a big hit in our house. Didn't even last through the day. I will be making it again. Nice to have a recipe to use the sourdough starter discard, I hate to even throw it away cause it smells so good! I will be trying your other sourdough discard recipes and then try my hand at the beginners sourdough once my starter is mature enough. Thank you!
This is absolutely the best pumpkin bread I have ever made! My husband is a diehard pumpkin bread fan and he said the same thing! I am new to the sourdough thing and hated wasting the discard. I am so glad I found your site! I am trying the scones today, also. Thank you for your great recipes and videos!!!
Made this recipe with discard starter from day 4 of the sourdough starter recipe. Turned out awesome. Thinking next time I’ll use just straight cinnamon. Just a preference.