Pumpkin Pecan Sourdough Bread

Feed your starter in the morning by adding 50 grams of hungry starter, 50g Bread Flour, and 50g water to a bowl. Mix well and let it rise until it doubles in size. This varies depending on the starter. My starter take about 4 hours to double.

Roast the pecans and allow to cool. Then rough chop them and set aside.

Once doubled and bubbly, add the starter to a large bowl along with pumpkin puree, brown sugar, water and Bread flour. Mix well, cover and let it sit for 1 hour to hydrate.

Add the salt and mix well. Stretch and fold the dough onto itself all the way around the dough. Cover and let it sit for 30 mins. Repeat this process 3x.

For the 4th stretch and fold, dump the dough out on a clean surface. Stretch the dough out to a rectangle about 12×14. It does not need to be precise. Sprinkle half the pecans on the one half of the rectangle. Fold the dough over onto itself. Then sprinkle the rest of the pecans on top and roll it up. Gently form a dough ball and place it back into the bowl and cover.

Let it bulk rise until it doubles in size. This can take from 3-6 hours depending on your starter and the temperature in the room.

Once doubled, shape your dough into a ball. Make sure to form a tight skin but do not pull too hard or the pecans will push through the skin. Place into a banneton that has been sprinkled with Rice flour. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

After the cold ferment, cut 4 strings that are about 28 inches long. Place them into a bowl and soak them in a neutral  oil, like canola or avocado. This will prevent the string from sticking to the bread. While the bread is still in the banneton, Place the strings across the top. The first 2 strings in a cross pattern and the next 2 strings in an X pattern. Place a piece of parchment paper on top and flip the bread over by placing your hand on top of the bread and with the other hand flipping the bread over. Take each string, and tie it on top of the bread (not too tight) and cut the excess string. You can use a blade to make decorative cuts on the dough but this is not necessary. 

Place the bread into the preheated dutch oven. Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the inside of the hot dutch oven and place the cover on. Lower the oven to 450℉. Bake for 30 mins covered.  After the first 15 mins, place a baking sheet underneath the dutch oven to prevent the bread bottom from burning or getting too dark.  After another 15  mins remove the cover and bake for another 5 – 10 mins.

Cut the strings off and place a cinnamon stick as the stem. Enjoy the beauty and the taste of this bread!