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.
Can I use dark brown sugar in place of light for this recipe?
Yes
Turned out great! I only used 170g of raw cane sugar and my family liked the sweetness level. I made it the day before and kept in the fridge for a little bit of extra ferment before baking in the morning. I had to bake for maybe 1hr 10min.
Excellent recipe! I added a half cup dried cranberries + a half cup toasted chopped pecans. I baked it in the mini (8) muffin tin so that I can wrap each individually to gift on Thanksgiving.
It is an incredible bread and the flavor is much better than other quickbread recipes. Thank you!
I used fresh butternut squash purée from the garden instead of pumpkin…..turned out amazing! Along side.a nice hot cup of tea!
Delicious! I followed directions exactly ingredients wise. Just had to back it about 10 minutes longer for it to be done. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
This recipe has been a fast favorite!! Can I back this in a 9x13 with crumb topping to make it more like a coffee cake?
U I have not made the recipe yet-this sounds like an awful lot of sugar to me, is it ok to reduce it a little? I mean because of the sweetness not the calories. Thank you
Yes, you can reduce it by a third to half.
I know you mentioned that the batter can be made the day before then bake the next day. Do you let it come to room temp ? Or bake from cold?
Hi Lucy, you can bake it from either room temp or cold. If you bake it cold, it will need to bake longer. I would add an extra 10 minutes to the bake time and check it with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's ready. If not, add 5 more minutes of bake at a time until it's cooked through. If cooking from room temp, it will be the same amount of time as in the recipe card.
Hi Amy! Would it be best to use white AP flour or bread mix flour for the pumpkin bread? Or a mix of both? I use Sunrise Flour Mills flours.
Thank you1
Hi Lynette, you can use either. Just note that bread flour tends to give it a chewier, denser texture because of it's higher protein content.
Hi Camryn. I baked with 3/4 AP and 1/4 bread mix. It was crumbly when warm (when it takes so good haha) but firmed up when cooled. I think I may try all bread mix next time; it’s fun to experiment! I love Amy’s recipes!!
Thank you ❤️
Lynette
Delicious!!! I used melted coconut oil instead of butter, and agave nectar instead of sugar and it was PERFECT!!!!