a post-vaccine life motto i’ve adopted: seek more opportunities to turn ordinary moments into special ones.
i buy all the flowers at the farmers market stand as it closes and cover every surface of my apartment with them. i lug bushels of apples home to make apple crisp in batches, dropping in on my friends on a random tuesday for a special delivery. i thrift a red dress that makes me feel like the 💃🏻 emoji, muster all the main-character-energy i can, and stroll around nyc in it without a so-called occasion.
i find myself delighting in the ability to infuse this everyday magic into the familiar, worn grooves of routine, in a way i have never felt before.
there is something that feels so fun, so dramatic, so extra about decorative sourdough.
unlike a cake, bread isn’t often thought of as pretty. maybe that’s why i’m even more appreciative of those who have made sourdough an art.
it’s decorative gourd season y’all. let’s make sourdough pumpkins!
notes
i’ve wanted to try this pumpkin shaping ever since i saw it on my instagram feed last year.
my variations:
- added a dash of turmeric for additional color in the dough, and subtle flavor
- saved and dried a butternut squash nub to top the final loaf for additional flourish
- included actual pumpkin puree during the autolyse for the full pumpkin effect
baker’s percentage & basic timetable
the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.
| ingredient | baker’s percentage |
| bread flour | 70% |
| whole wheat flour | 15% |
| all purpose flour | 15% |
| water | 72% |
| salt | 2.5% |
| levain | 24% |
| pumpkin | 20% |
| turmeric & spices | 0.75% |
| step | time |
| levain build | 6 hours |
| bulk rise | 8 hours |
| folds | 4-5 folds |
| cold proof | 12 – 14 hours |
| bake | 45 minutes |
pumpkin sourdough
formula
- 15 g unfed levain
- 15 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 60 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 60 g water @ 85°F
- 280 g king arthur bread flour
- 60 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 60 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 0.5 tsp ginger or garam masala powder (optional)
- 288 g water @ 95°F
- 80 g pumpkin puree
- 10 g sea salt
- 96 g ripe levain
- 96" baker's twine
- neutral oil
- scissors
- butternut squash top stub, dried & baked
method
- refresh your starter using levain build formula, and stiff starter method.
- in a large bowl, mix all flours, turmeric powder, and ginger powder together.
- in another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the water. stir well so pumpkin puree is evenly distributed in the liquid mixture. note: you want the resulting temperature of the liquid to be about 93°F. i gradually added water to my pumpkin puree until i reached that temperature.
- slowly add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, mixing with a rubber spatula. make sure to incorporate the liquid into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated.
- let sit, covered, for 60 minutes.
- sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times. then, measure out ripe starter, and add to bowl.
- mix, alternating between using the rubaud and pincer method, for about 6-7 minutes.
- let dough rise at room temp until it is about 1.5x in size and appears gaseous, about 8 hours in the fall.
- this dough needs 4-5 sets of coil folds, spaced 45 min apart, starting at the beginning.
- sample schedule:– 1:45 pm fold #1– 2:30 pm fold #2– 3:15 fold #3– 4 pm fold #4
- i like to shape these as a round boule.
- on a generously floured surface, gently guide dough onto the table.
- first tug and fold the dough lightly on itself in each direction: top, left, right, bottom, like you're folding up paper.
- then, repeat to create a more tightly formed
- generously flour an lined round bannetone. flip the dough over with a bench knife, and gently transfer the dough, seasm side up, into the bannetone.
- if the seam has come undone, stitch it back together.
- lightly flour the top of the dough.
- place bannetone inside of a plastic bag to cover, and place in fridge overnight for 12 – 14 hours.
- place dutch oven with lid on into the oven. pre-heat oven to 495°F for an hour.
- dough is proofed when it passes the finger dent test. remove bannetone from fridge.
- cut 4 pieces of baker's twine, each 24" in length. dip or cover each piece in vegetable oil. remove excess oil with fingers.
- while the dough is still in the bannetone, lay each piece of twine on top across the center, so that the strings create an asterick shape.
- flip the dough out onto a precut piece of parchment paper
- gather the pieces of twine on dough top, and then loosely tie together. i left just under an inch of room for my dough to expand while baking.
- for an extra flourish, score each section with a leaf pattern using a lame.
- watch the video above for full demonstration.
- transfer scored dough to dutch oven.
- decrease temperature to 475°F. with the lid on, bake for 30 minutes. then, take the lid off. bake for another 12 – 15 minutes, or whenever the crust turns the color you like it (i go for a medium brown).
- let this loaf full cool on a wire rack (or something else that allows the air to circulate).
- after crust is no longer hot to the touch (after 30 min), remove the strings by cutting them.
- optional: place your dried butternut squash stem flat on top of the loaf before serving.
- let loaf cool for at least 3 hours before slicing.
Exactly!