Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

Sourdough pumpkin bread is soft, moist, and the perfect recipe for fall baking! Warm spices, cozy flavors, and super easy to make!

This recipe is super easy and perfect for when the days turn cooler, colors start filling in the landscape, and cozy sweaters begin making their appearance. There’s nothing quite like the smell of warmly spiced pumpkin bread baking on a crisp autumn afternoon.

This bread is great for afternoon snacks, a side to breakfast or brunch, and makes for a lovely fall gift. It whips up in less than 10 minutes and uses a lot of sourdough discard so is a great way to use up some of your extra starter. The sourdough adds a depth of flavor as well that pairs wonderfully with the pumpkin.

There are so many delicious recipes I love to make in the fall like pumpkin scones, glazed pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and molasses cookies. This pumpkin bread is my go-to though when I need something fast and delicious without a lot of hands on time.

I use canned pumpkin in this recipe but you can also use fresh! If using fresh make sure to blot the pumpkin puree first to remove some of the liquid. If using canned pumpkin there is no need to blot and you can use it straight from the can.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Quick and Easy – this bread can be mixed up in less than 10 minutes! While it takes a little longer to bake it has very minimal hands on time.

Soft and Moist – this bread is SO soft and fluffy yet also incredibly moist. The key to getting a super soft quick bread is to mix by hand and only until the ingredients are just combined. No over mixing! Over mixing results in a tough and rubbery texture rather than soft and fluffy.

Delicious! – the flavors of pumpkin and cinnamon with the addition of sourdough is a perfect combination!

Ingredients

Flour – organic all-purpose, whole wheat, or freshly milled flour.

Salt, baking powder, baking soda – to help with flavor, rise, and softness.

Pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon – for warm spiced fall flavor. You can either use store bought pumpkin pie spice or make your own. This is a great recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice.

Cane sugar and brown sugar – you will use a combination of both for this recipe. You may substitute one or both of these for coconut sugar if you prefer.

Butter and coconut oil – melted. These help keep the bread moist. You may substitute the coconut oil for butter and visa versa the butter for coconut oil if you prefer. Using only coconut oil is a great option if you’re wanting to make this recipe dairy free. I used salted butter but you may use unsalted. I prefer to use refined coconut oil so the bread doesn’t have a coconut flavor.

Egg – for binding the ingredients.

Pumpkin puree – make sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling. You’ll want to use 100% pumpkin puree. You can also use fresh pumpkin puree. See instructions below for using fresh pumpkin.

Sourdough starter – you may use either active starter or sourdough discard.

Vanilla extract – adds flavor. Vanilla makes any baked good better in my opinion!

Step-by-step instructions (with pictures!) can be found below, followed by a recipe card with exact measurements.

Tools You May Need

Measuring cups and spoons

Large and medium bowls

Whisk

8×4 loaf pan

How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small saucepan over low/medium hear melt together the salted butter (1/4 cup) and coconut oil (1/4 cup). Once it is melted set it aside to cool slightly.

Step 2: While the butter and oil are melting/cooling mix together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl combine the flour (1 cup), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), salt (1/4 tsp), pumpkin pie spice (1 1/2 tsp), and cinnamon (1 tsp). Whisk the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

Step 3: In a medium bowl combine the sourdough starter or discard (1/2 cup), pumpkin puree (7.5 oz), sugar (1/2 cup), brown sugar (1/4 cup), egg (1), and vanilla extract (1 tsp). Whisk to combine. Add the melted butter and coconut oil to the wet ingredients. Whisk until the oil is fully incorporated.

Step 4: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir the mixtures together with a spatula or large spoon. Mix just until combined. Do not over mix!

Step 5: Grease or line a 4×8 loaf pan with parchment paper. I usually grease mine with coconut oil.

Step 6: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread it out evenly to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon if desired. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 7: Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan. Run a knife along the edges to loosen it up then carefully transfer the loaf from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. Slice, serve and enjoy!

How to Serve

Sourdough pumpkin bread is delicious fresh and warm right out of the oven but it is even better the second day! You can slice and serve as is or spread with rich yellow butter. It makes a great side to eggs or sausage, omelettes, or quiche.

This recipe doubles beautifully so it works great to make a double batch and freeze the second loaf or gift it to someone!

How to Store

Cover any leftover bread tightly with plastic wrap or place in an airtight ziplock baggie. Store at room temperature up to 4 days for maximum freshness.

How to Freeze

To freeze sourdough pumpkin bread first let the bread cool completely. You can either slice the bread or keep the loaf whole. I find that it freezes better if kept unsliced. Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap then wrap with aluminum foil. Place it in a ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Place the loaf in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To serve the bread after being frozen, remove the bread from the freezer and allow it to thaw completely at room temperature before serving.

Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Recipes from Our Kitchen

• Sourdough Pumpkin Scones
• Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Sourdough Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’ve made this sourdough pumpkin bread I would love if you left a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below 🙂 Thank you for visiting!