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Pumpkin Shaped Bread (with step-by-step photos)

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With fall just around the corner, what better way to welcome the season than with this adorable pumpkin shaped sourdough bread? Simply take your favorite sourdough recipe, tie it up, and finish with a cinnamon stick for a festive touch to your dinner table. It’s a show-stopping appetizer or side dish that’s perfect for your next gathering.  

pumpkin shaped sourdough bread with brown and white checkered tea towel

Supplies needed 

  • Baker’s twine– This is what you will use to tie up your loaf. You want to be sure to use a food-safe twine that does not have a lot of fuzz.
  • Banneton basket (proofing basket)-For a large sourdough loaf, like my recipe, you will want to use an 8″-10″ round basket to proof your dough in. Alternatively, you can use a similar sized bowl. 
  • Parchment paper or a silicone bread sling– This is what you will transfer your dough to before baking. 
  • Dutch oven or bread oven– I like to bake my loaf in a dutch oven or bread oven. 
  • Cinnamon stick– This will serve as the stem.
close up of sourdough pumpkin bread with a cinnamon stick in the middle

Instructions

Begin by making your loaf of sourdough bread. I recommend my simple overnight bread recipe or sourdough pumpkin bread. You can keep the loaf plain or flavor it with your favorite spices or mix-ins. For festive breads try pumpkin puree or apple. You can find inspiration in my blog post 21 sourdough add-ins to try. Shape the loaf into a boule (round loaf) and place in the banneton basket to ferment. Cold dough will be easier to work with so I recommend doing the second proof in the fridge. However, if you proof the dough on the counter, place the loaf in the freezer once it’s ready, until the oven is preheated and you’re prepared to tie it up.

After completing the second proof, preheat your oven according to your recipe instructions. Pro tip: to avoid the pumpkin bursting on one side ensure your loaf is well proofed. If the loaf is under proofed the pumpkin is likely going to be lopsided and bursting on one side. 

Next, cut four strips of bakers twine, making each strip 2.5 times longer than the length of the diameter of the proofing basket. 

Then soak the strips in a little bit of olive oil, or something similar, for about 2-3 minutes. Remove the strips from the oil and squeeze out the excess oil. This will help prevent the string from leaving fuzz on the loaf after baking.

Place two pieces of bakers twine on top of the basket, one vertically and one horizontally, forming a cross. Next, position the other two strings diagonally, creating an ‘X’ shape between the other strings, as shown below. 

sourdough in a proofing basket with 4 bakers twine laid on top

Place the piece of parchment paper or bread sling on top of the string and then carefully flip the basket over. Readjust the strings to evenly space them.

sourdough bread with bakers twine underneath all on top of a bread sling

Start with one string and loosely tie it with the same string directly across from it. The string should not be tight or cutting into the dough. As you can see in this example below, the vertical string is tied correctly without any tension on the dough. However, the string tied horizontally is too tight and is cutting into the dough.

tying up a loaf of sourdough bread with bakers twine

Going string by string, tie up the remaining strings. Cut the excess string.

bakers twine tied up on a loaf of sourdough bread

Dust the top of the loaf with all purpose flour or rice flour if you want the scoring to stand out. Or for a more rustic look, don’t add flour. Score the dough with a bread lame. I prefer to add wheat stalks to each section but you can just slash each section or decorate it as you prefer.

tying up a loaf of sourdough bread into the shape of a pumpkin with wheat stalks scored on each section

Bake the loaf as directed in the recipe instructions. 

Once the loaf is baked through place it on a cooling rack to cool. Once the loaf has cooled slightly for 10-15 minutes, cut the strings and remove them from the loaf. Place a cinnamon stick in the center of the loaf and enjoy. 

Hosting Tip 

One of my favorite things to do with a pumpkin loaf is to carve out the top of the loaf and then hollow out the center. Place your favorite dip in the middle like spinach artichoke, cinnamon honey butter, cheese dip and plate the pumpkin with the bread from the center on the side. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my loaf fuzzy after taking off the string?

You want to make sure to soak your string in oil before wrapping the loaf. Failure to soak the string can result in fuzzies on the loaf. Also be sure to use string that isn’t super fuzzy, cotton bakers twine works best. 

Why is my pumpkin lop sided or bursting from one side?

If your loaf is bursting from one side it most likely was under proofed. Extending your rise times will help ensure an even pumpkin. 

What happens if my string is too tight? 

If you accidentally tie your string too tight it runs the risk of baking deep into the pumpkin bread, making it hard to remove the string in the end.

More sourdough recipes

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