Pumpkin bread on sourdough

1. Stage

First we need to "cheer up" our starter. To do this we feed it with 2 tablespoons of flour and about 50 ml of water. We leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours. My sourdough is strong, so it needs less time to grow and be ready to "escape".

2. Stage

Next, while our sourdough is coming, let's prepare the pumpkin. To do this, we take 350 grams of pumpkin, peeled and seeded, cut it into large pieces (about the size of a walnut), put it in a saucepan and pour water so that the pumpkin is completely covered with it. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft. For me, it took 10 minutes. There is no point in boiling the pumpkin for a long time. Even if it remains a little tough, that's okay.

3. Stage

So, our pumpkin is ready. Now you need to drain the water in which the pumpkin was cooked. Let it cool slightly and puree it with an immersion blender until homogeneous. In the resulting puree add salt, sugar and honey.

4. Stage

When the sugar and salt are completely dissolved, add the warm milk (here you can use both nonfat cream and leftover pumpkin broth, and water, thereby obtaining new shades of flavor). Whisk a little more with a blender until the mixture is homogeneous.

5. Stage

Now let's prepare the dry products for our bread. I kneaded the dough in the bread machine, but it doesn't matter at all. I trust my baking machine only to knead the dough, because, in my opinion, the baking is still tastier in the oven. So, in the bucket of the baker we pour 600 grams of flour (to start), 2 tablespoons of bran (I currently have oat bran)

6. Stage

We add flax seeds. For those who don't like seeds in their bread, you can exclude them. I often bake bread with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, etc. Lightly stir the contents of the bucket.

7. Stage

Now let's deal with the liquid components of our dough. We add 200 ml of wheat starter to the cooled (!) pumpkin pie mixed with milk, mix it and send it to the flour mixture. At this point we put the bucket in the bread machine, set the program "dough". If you knead the dough by hand, it will be easier for you to understand how much more flour the dough "asks" for. I had 750g + 1 tablespoon of flour. It is important not to clog the dough with flour, otherwise it will be difficult for the sourdough to raise the bread.

8. Stage

At the end of the kneading we add vegetable oil and knead our kolobok for a couple more minutes. The result should be a soft dough that is not too sticky on the hands. It takes about 30 minutes to knead in the bread machine. While kneading, keep an eye on the consistency and add flour as needed (we originally only put in 600g).

9. Stage

While our dough is resting, we prepare the baking dish. I baked in an old bread mold I got from my grandmother. These molds are probably no longer on the market. You can use any mold you want, or you can bake in the bread machine. I, on the other hand, prefer to use the oven for baking. So, I cover the form with two strips of baking paper, placed crosswise. This makes it easier to remove the loaf from the mold without loss. If you are using a silicone mold, you can skip this step. Transfer the loaf to the mold, and place the mold in a spacious plastic bag to prevent the dough from getting too light. Tie the bag. Initially, kolobok should occupy no more than half of the form, because when the loaves are proofed, they will greatly increase in size. The photo shows the already spaced bread, ready for baking.

10. Stage

Depending on the strength of your sourdough, the proofing time may be longer or shorter. I usually have it take 4-5 hours at room temperature (which is not very warm at home), or 2-3 hours in the oven at 30 degrees. When your loaf has noticeably increased in size or is already trying to "escape" from the mold, then it's time to turn on the oven. When the bread is ready put it into the oven heated to 230 degrees. Bake the first 15 minutes with steam, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees, if necessary cover the top of the loaf with foil and bake another 20 minutes.

11. Stage

We remove the finished bread from the mold, wrap it in a towel and leave it to ripen (cool) for a couple of hours. After that we can enjoy the delicious bright flavorful and, of course, healthy bread. Here is such a loaf we have as a result. I hope you will have fun trying to make this healthy yeast-free bread!

12. Stage

And in the cut. As you can see, the crumb turned out a bright pumpkin color with small holes, slightly moist and very flavorful. This bread is perfect for sandwiches, or breakfast sandwiches. Thank you for your attention to my recipe!