Pumpkin  Sourdough Bread

Servings :

Total Time:

12 slices

12 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

mature starter room temperature flour tepid water For the sourdough loaf active starter canned pumpkin purée honey or maple syrup pumpkin spice ground turmeric sea salt white bread flour olive oil for the bowl rice flour or gluten free flour for the bowl or banetton

Step 1

Mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl – I use my dough whisk for this. Add the honey or maple syrup, pumpkin purée, pumpkin spice and salt. Mix well.

Step 2

Add the flour and mix well with the dough whisk or your hands until you have a shaggy, slightly sticky dough. If the dough is really sticky add a little flour, a tablespoon at a time and work it into the dough. Cover the bowl and leave for 30 minutes.

Step 3

STETCH AND FOLD Pull a section of the dough from the underside and stretch it upwards. Fold this over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl as you do this so that you stretch the entire dough. Repeat every 30 minutes for two hours or just the once. I am quite lazy when it comes to sourdough baking (eek!).

Step 4

BULK FERMENTATION Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise at room temperature overnight (8-10 hours) or in the fridge (10-14 hours). The temperature in your kitchen will greatly affect the proving time. Slower fermentation is thought to result in better flavor!

Step 5

READY TO SHAPE Take a look at your dough – it should have risen in the bowl to almost doubled. Mist your worktop with water and scrape the dough onto it – do not punch the dough down. Gently stretch the dough to form a rectangle then fold it into thirds (letter fold).

Step 6

Roll the dough into a tight ball and shape into a round loaf using your hands and a bench scraper to aid you. Dust the dough with gluten free flour and smooth it over the bread.

Step 7

PREPARING A BANNETON BASKET If you are using a banneton basket, you need to prep this first before first use.

Step 8

Transfer the dough into a prepared banneton basket or a round bowl and leave it to rise again for 30-120 minutes. Check your loaf is ready to bake by gently prodding with a finger. If the indent springs back slowly leaving a small dent then you are ready to bake. If it springs back really quickly you need to allow it to rise for a little longer.

Step 9

You can use any type of sourdough loaf and shape it in this way. You will need some food safe cotton string, parchment paper and a cast iron pot (Dutch Oven) to bake the bread in. I tied my sourdough with baker’s twine but a plain cotton string is much better!

Step 10

Cut four pieces of string, about 24 inches long. Dip the string in vegetable oil and run between your fingers to get rid of excess oil.

Step 11

Position the strings on top of a round piece of parchment paper (cut so that it fits your Dutch Oven).  Place the loaf in the centre and tie the strings (not too tightly, to allow for the bread to expand as it bakes) over the loaf so that it is divided into eight equal sections.

Step 12

Cut any excess string. Use a razor to slice the loaf in whatever pattern you like. I found the relatively shallow cuts are better for this tied up loaf.

Step 13

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature is just above 98C/ 205F . Leave the bread to cool down, uncovered, for at least an hour or until it no longer feels warm to the touch. Snip the strings and gently remove (best to cut them into sections rather than pull them whole).

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