Perfect, Moist Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread!

Say goodbye to boring pumpkin bread recipes and hello to a sourdough version that will elevate your baking game. The warm, comforting flavors of pumpkin and sourdough combine to create a truly irresistible sweet treat.

As soon as it turns August, I go into fall season mode!🍂 It’s still warm where I am, but I’m opting for wearing flannels and jeans (even if I’m still sweating in them). During the summer, my preferred bread is sourdough banana bread (recipe coming soon), but with the fall, I embrace my identity as a pumpkin spice lover. I love all things pumpkin: pumpkin sourdough bread, pumpkin spice lattes, sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls (recipe coming soon), sourdough pumpkin muffins (recipe coming soon), and on, and on, and on!

While it’s just my husband and I eating baked goods, I find joy in making baked goods for my friends and family. This bread is a great way to break the ice with new neighbors, take to woman’s ministry, or pass off to your pickleball friends! It’s definitely a must-have for the thanksgiving table🦃

This easy sourdough pumpkin bread recipe is a great base recipe that can easily be customized with chocolate chips, vegan ingredients, made into muffins, and more! No need to ferment or wait for dough to rise; this is a quick bread recipe. It was perfect the next morning with a fresh cup of coffee☕ my favorite coffee is from Seven Weeks Coffee! Use code RenaissanceAlana for 15% off!

@renaissance_lana

Get cozy with this homemade pumpkin bread recipe! 🍂🍞 Perfect for fall mornings or anytime you need a taste of autumn. . . . . . #PumpkinBread #FallBaking #AutumnTreats #HomemadeBread #BakingRecipe #PumpkinSpice #CozyEats #FallFlavors #BakingFromScratch #SeasonalBaking

♬ Wannabe – Spice Girls

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Butter: I buy my butter in bulk from Sam’s Club since I do a lot of baking. Salt is my kryptonite, so I use salted butter. You can easily switch out the butter with coconut oil to make this recipe vegan (it does change the taste a bit, but the pumpkin is so strong, it’s not too noticeable).

Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but you can use dark brown sugar too!

Granulated Sugar: I used organic granulated cane sugar from Walmart. If you’re interested in using maple syrup instead, replace the 1/2 cup of white sugar with 1/3 cup of maple syrup.

Pumpkin Puree: I used the canned pumpkin from Walmart that’s used for pumpkin pie filling. 100% pumpkin, no extra ingredients/preservatives! As we get into the fall season and pumpkins are coming out, making a homemade pumpkin puree would be perfect here too (and you can keep the pumpkin seeds as a snack)!

Eggs: I used pasture-raised eggs that were at room temperature. You can easily switch the eggs with 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg to make this recipe vegan!

Sourdough Starter Discard: I used sourdough starter discard that was a few days old that I had stored in my refrigerator. You can use active starter in place of discard. You will get a tangy flavor with discard than with active sourdough starter, which I prefer! A tangy sourdough starter will have been in the fridge for 3+ days.

Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is the perfect complement with the pumpkin flavor.

Dry Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour: I like to use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for baking, but my homemade sourdough starter is made with whole wheat flour. You could switch out the AP flour for whole wheat for a grainer textured bread. Bread flour could be substituted here as well.

Baking Soda

Baking Powder: I like to use a baking powder that has no added aluminum (I’m not a fan of aluminum foil either)!

Salt: If you haven’t tried Redmond’s Real Salt, you’re missing out!

Pumpkin Spice: Organic pumpkin spice from Walmart. You can make your own pumpkin pie spice blend too!

How to Make Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 bread loaf pan with butter. You can use parchment paper in the pan instead of greasing!

Using a stand mixer (or a bowl), mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt. I use a fork or whisk to get all the ingredients mixed together.

Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough discard to the brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined well.

Fold the dry ingredient mix into the wet ingredients a bit at a time. Fold until just it’s just incorporated, you don’t want to overmix the dough.

Pour mixture into greased pan.

Bake for 60 minutes. Test the bread with a toothpick and if some batter sticks to it, place it back in the oven to finish baking. For mine, I noticed it was a bit doughy in the center of the loaf, so I put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Let the bread cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Wait to slice until fully cooled to avoid the loaf crumbling!