Hearty Pumpkin Seed Sourdough Bread

We are heading towards autumn again and as we all know: Autumn time is pumpkin time! So what could fit better than a hearty pumpkin seed sourdough bread?

If you are trying to get into the autumn mood and look for a sourdough bread with a strong and hearty taste, this recipe is for you. Simply follow our step by step recipe and you will be able to enjoy this lovely bread soon.

Things to know before you start

Time Schedule

In under 9 hours you will have a hearty pumpkin seed sourdough bread on the table.

Total ingredients

You will have a dough of about 1.218 g in total (only 50 g of pumpkin seeds included).

Make sure to have a mature sourdough starter that is active and healthy. If you think your starter is not, then you can add 3 g of fresh yeast to help with the rise.

Difficulty

Again a simple and quick recipe for a pumpkin seed sourdough bread.

As usual, feel free to check out our sourdough bread for beginners recipe that contains a lot of details for the different steps you will be executing here.

Baking tools

A round banneton proofing basket is recommended for a nice round shape. As we are going to shred part of the pumpkin seeds, a blender or grinder can also come in handy.

You can also have a look at our should have baking tools to find some more baking tools we are constantly using.

Steps

1. Shred Pumpkin Seeds

• Shred the pumpkin seeds until they are finely shredded like whole wheat flour
• Using a blender or grinder is pretty much the best way to do it

2. Mix

• Mix all of the mentioned ingredients in a stand mixer for 3 minutes on speed level one and 6 minutes on speed level two
• The dough should be smooth after mixing and not stick to the bowl a lot

3. Bulk Fermentation, Stretch & Fold

• Cover the dough and let it rest for a total of 2,5 hours at 20-22°C (68-71,6°F)
• During that time stretch & fold the dough every 30 minutes (3 times in total) and after the 3rd time, let it ferment further for 1 hour until 2,5 hours are reached in total
• After each stretch and fold put it back to the bowl and cover it again so it doesn’t dry out

4. Pre-shape

• Get the dough in shape by roughly rounding it
• Afterwards look for a dry spot on your surface and flour it
• Transfer the pre-shaped dough ball on the floured surface
• Cover it with a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes
• Tip: If you realize that the dough starts sticking to your hand or bench knife, just clean the bench knife of any dough and flour it a bit again

4. Shape

• Shape your dough by rounding it
• Afterwards dip your hands in water and damp the top and sides of the dough with them
• Now take the pumpkin seeds and press them all over the top and sides of the dough

5. Proof

• Dust your proofing basket with all-purpose flour
• Put your previously shaped dough seam-side-up in the dusted proofing basket
• Add flour on top and cover it with a towel
• Let it proof for 2,5 hours at 20-22°C (68-71,6°F)

6. Bake

• Preheat oven to 260°C (500°F) for ~45 minutes with the upper and lower heat function
• Put the loaf in the oven, create steam and bake for 45 to 50 minutes
• After 10 minutes lower the temperature to 220°C (428°F), let the steam out by opening the oven door for ~45 seconds and close it again

7. Cool

• Let your hearty pumpkin seed sourdough bread cool for 2 hours on some kind of grid

Conclusion

Crust

Crumb

Taste

This sourdough bread has a strong, flavourful and hearty taste – just perfect for this time of the year.

Goes good with

All kinds of hearty things like cold cuts or scrambled eggs with a bit of bacon. Even sweet things like honey or marmalade are a great addition as it mixes sweet and hearty in a perfect way.

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