Healthy Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Bread Recipe (or Muffins)

It’s officially fall, so you know what that means: baking season! Also, time for pumpkin everything – LOL. So let’s kick things off with a new drool-worthy seasonal recipe: healthy sourdough pumpkin spice bread. It’s fluffy, moist, mildly sweet, perfectly spiced and oh-so-delicious. You can use the batter to make healthy sourdough pumpkin muffins too!

Made with whole wheat pastry flour, ample pumpkin, and no refined sugars, this recipe is lower on the glycemic index – and lower on the guilt scale! Don’t get me wrong, I do love an occasional cookie or other sweet treat. But I also have to be careful with temptations around the holidays, being Type 1 Diabetic and all… So rather than throwing another extra-sugary pumpkin recipe in the mix, I wanted to create something a little more nutritious to enjoy and share.

If you’re looking for a more summery version of this healthy sweet bread, don’t miss our delicious sourdough spiced zucchini bread with optional nuts, seeds, chocolate, or dried fruit!

What makes this “healthy” sourdough pumpkin bread?

A number of things make this sourdough pumpkin spice bread more healthy and nutritious than your average sweet bread recipe:

• We use a whole can of pumpkin puree. Pumpkin is absolutely loaded with antioxidants, fiber, Vitamins A, C, E, K and essential minerals such as iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and more. So the more pumpkin, the merrier! Using the whole can also reduces waste. If you’re feeling ambitious, learn how to make homemade pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins here.
  

• Thanks to the whole wheat pastry flour, this sourdough pumpkin bread has more fiber and complex carbohydrates – resulting in a lower glycemic index. That means it’s digested more slowly and won’t cause the extreme blood sugar spikes as white flour would – which is good for all of us, not just diabetics! It also makes you feel full or satisfied for longer, and makes the bread exceptionally tender and soft. (Yes, you can use all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour if that’s all you have available!)
  
  
• This recipe is sweetened with natural sugars (maple syrup and/or honey) rather than refined white or brown sugar. Maple syrup and honey contain more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants while having a lower glycemic index than refined sugar.
  
  
• I went a little heavier on the cinnamon compared to other sourdough pumpkin bread recipes – because it tastes fantastic, but also because cinnamon also reduces blood sugar spikes and boosts metabolism!  I use cinnamon liberally in as many recipes as I can – including in my morning coffee.
  

• For the healthiest sourdough pumpkin bread possible, allow the mixed batter to ferment for 8 to 12 hours before baking (in the refrigerator). While it’s not necessary to get a good rise in this recipe, a longer fermentation time gives the sourdough starter time to work its magic nutritionally!  Sourdough is more healthy than standard non-fermented bread. In fact, it’s scientifically-proven to be lower in gluten, easier to digest, have a lower glycemic index, and contain more bioavailable nutrients – but only if it’s given adequate time to ferment! 

Should I use active sourdough starter or discard?

You can use either discard or active starter in this recipe. Using active starter (recently fed, used at peak activity) will result in a slightly lighter, more airy and fluffy sourdough pumpkin spice bread. We’ve also made this recipe using discard and it turned out great! It was a tad more dense and tangy, but not in a bad way. 

Note: by “discard” I mean you can use an inactive, not fully risen starter. However, I don’t recommend using the first discard from a severely old, acidic, neglected starter that hasn’t been fed in several weeks or longer.

Need a starter? We offer organic sourdough starter in our shop here! And if you’re looking for other ways to use discarded starter, see our list of the 15 Best Sourdough Discard Recipes here.

Fermentation time/schedule for sourdough pumpkin bread

We’ve found 8 to 12 hours of fermentation time is the “sweet spot” to get the best nutritional value without jeopardizing bread quality. This could mean mixing your batter in the morning and baking it later that afternoon/evening, or mixing the batter in the evening and baking it first thing the next morning. 

However, you can definitely reduce the fermentation time to fit your schedule! It will still rise just fine. The fact that this recipe uses both baking soda and baking powder is what gives it great flexibility for time, since baking soda is most active for a few hours after mixing in dough or batter, while baking powder retains its rising powers for several days in the refrigerator. 

You can also increase the fermentation time if needed, but I don’t recommend fermenting the batter for much longer than 20 hours. The longer sourdough ferments, the more chewy the baked bread can become. Chewy is a great attribute when you’re making a rustic loaf of regular sourdough, but not necessarily for a sweet bread like this. When we let the batter ferment for nearly 24 hours during our trials of this recipe, it turned out pretty good but was noticeably more gummy.

Follow these tips for success

• When measuring flour, don’t scoop the measuring cup right into the bag! This compacts the flour and ends up with inconsistent (more than desired) measurements. Instead, stir and fluff the flour in the bag, use a large spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup, and then level it off with the flat side of a butter knife.
  
  
• Don’t over mix (or over ferment) the batter, which can make it more gummy or chewy. When adding the dry ingredients into the wet ones, gently hand-stir and fold everything just until it’s combined and then stop. A few lumps are okay! A mixer isn’t needed.
  
  
• If you have any issues with the sourdough pumpkin bread sticking to your pan, try our favorite non-stick USA bread pan instead. I can’t recommend it highly enough! It’s lined with food-grade silicone, making it totally nontoxic – and the bread literally slides right out. (We use this wide shallow version to bake our sourdough focaccia).
  

INGREDIENTS FOR SOURDOUGH PUMPKIN SPICE BREAD

Makes one 9×5 inch pan (or 8.5″ x 4.5″ pan)

Dry Ingredients

• 1.75 cup whole wheat pastry flour. Okay to substitute with all-purpose or white whole wheat flour, though I found all-purpose flour made it a tad more crumbly.
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Pumpkin spices: You can use 1 Tbsp of pre-made “pumpkin spice” seasoning, OR like we do, create your own pumpkin spice blend using 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground cloves.

Wet Ingredients

• 15 ounces pumpkin puree (1 full can or about 1.875 cups) – NOT pumpkin pie filling
• ½ cup real maple syrup*
• ¼ cup honey. Local honey is even better!
• ⅓ cup coconut oil or butter, melted. We’ve tried both, and while the difference is subtle, we prefer the flavor and texture of the finished sourdough pumpkin bread made with coconut oil.
• ½ cup sourdough starter (active or discard)
• 1 egg or egg substitute
• 1 tsp vanilla

*You can use all maple syrup or all honey instead (¾ cup total) but we really love the balance and flavor when using some of each.

Optional add-ins: ½ cup of chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or raisins 

Instructions: Batter Prep 

1. Whisk together melted coconut oil or butter, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla. Then beat in one egg. (Avoid adding the egg directly into hot oil or butter)
   
   
2. Next, stir in the sourdough starter and pumpkin puree. Mix well.
   
   
3. In a separate bowl, combine and thoroughly mix all of the dry ingredients: the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
   
   
4. Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet bowl. Gently stir and mix only until combined. Do not over mix! A few lumps are okay.
   
   
5. Finally, fold in any optional add-ins like nuts or chocolate chips. Again, avoid over-mixing.
   
   
6. Cover the bowl with beeswax wrap or a damp towel during fermentation to prevent the batter from drying out.
   
   
7. For the most nutritious results, allow the batter to ferment for 8 to 12 hours (though you can bake it sooner if you wish). Following food safety best practices, batter with raw egg should not be out at room temperature for more than 4 hours. So, we typically let the batter sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, then refrigerate it for the remainder of the time (usually overnight). For a shorter schedule, leave it out the entire time and then bake before the 4 hour mark.

Instructions: Baking & Storage

8. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Take the batter bowl out of the refrigerator and allow it to warm up at room temp for 30 to 45 minutes (while the oven is preheating).
   
   
9. Grease a 9×5″ bread pan with butter or oil, or line it with parchment paper like this. 
   
   
10. Pour/scoop the batter into the greased pan and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. I like to add a light sprinkle of cinnamon on top!
    
    
11. Bake the sourdough pumpkin spice bread on 350° F for 55 to 60 minutes, until a tester (toothpick) comes out clean. Bake for closer to 65 mins if you add mix-ins like chocolate or nuts.
    
    
12. Allow the bread to cool for 15 mins in the pan. Then take it out and transfer it to a cooling rack.
    
    
13. Enjoy! This healthy sourdough pumpkin spice bread is excellent on its own, but also pairs incredibly well with cream cheese.
    
    
14. The bread is best if consumed within 4 to 5 days. (Honestly, it’s even better on the second day than the first!) To retain moisture, store the bread wrapped, in a sealed bag, or in a food storage container with a lid. Refrigeration not required. You can also wrap and freeze leftovers for up to three months.

To make sourdough pumpkin muffins:

Follow the same instructions 1-8, but then divide the batter into a greased or paper-cup lined muffin pan instead. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes for standard size muffins and about 35 minutes for jumbo-sized. 

Who’s hungry?

Well friends, we tested and tweaked this healthy sourdough pumpkin spice bread recipe over and over for weeks until we got it just right. I’m legitimately so excited to share this with you, and can’t wait to see how you like it! Please let us know with a review and comment below. Also please feel free to spread the pumpkin lovin’ by sharing or pinning this post. Enjoy!

Don’t miss our other delicious sourdough recipes:

• Sourdough Pancakes recipe (discard or active starter)
• Cinnamon Spiced Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Soft and Chewy Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies
• Basic No-Knead Sourdough Bread Recipe
• Simple Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
• Herb and Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers
• Sourdough Cornbread
• Sourdough Starter Feeding & Maintenance Guide