Pumpkin Sourdough

I baked this today, and it turned out great.  I forgot to add the walnuts though! :-(. The recipe contains some milk powder, sugar and a small amount of butter, and the crumb is like a brioche, very soft and with distinct sour notes.  The pumpkin accents the sour flavor, giving Your sourdough a twist.

Here’s the recipe (using a KA mixer):

2 hours before mixing your dough:  Slice the pumpkin into chunks, boil WITHOUT SALT until soft.  Use a mixer to purée and let it cool down to room temperature.  I use a pressure cooker for this and it takes 4 minutes in the pressure cooker from the moment the steam valve shows until the moment you stop the cooking altogether.

Ingredients:

• AP Flour 1,000 gr
• Water 600 gr
• Salt 20 gr
• Sugar 100gr
• Butter 70 gr
• Milk Powder 50 gr
• Pumpkin Purée (Room Temp) 290 gr
• Sourdough Culture 500 gr
• Pumpkin seeds: 100 gr
• Walnuts 100 gr

Instructions:

1. All ingredients in the KA bowl EXCEPT Butter AND Seeds.
2. Knead on #1 speed with dough hook for 2 minutes, until mixed.
3. Increase speed to #3 for approximately 7 minutes, until you see the dough coming off the walls. Adjust water / flour as required, and don’t be shy to adjust.  If your dough is a shaggy mess after 2-3 minutes on #3, you’ll need a little more flour so it can come off the walls 3-4 minutes later.  Check gluten and knead a bit longer if needed until you have good gluten development.
4. Fold the butter in, cut in small chunks, little by little.  Do not add more butter unless the previous batch is incorporated into the dough.
5. Fold the nuts in.  To avoid tearing the dough, you can do this by hand on a lightly floured work surface.  Fold half of the nuts and make a letter fold. (4-sides), then the rest of the nuts and a second 4-side fold.
6. Let it ferment at room temperature (I use a Proofer set to 25C) for one hour.  You can do one Stretch & Fold after 30 minutes being extra careful that the nuts do not tear the dough.
7. Chill overnight.  I use a closed, oiled plastic container for this.
8. Next morning take out from fridge, let sit (closed) at room temperature for one hour, then pre-shape.
9. 30 minutes bench rest.
10. Final shaping followed by final proofing for around 1-2 hours, depending on room temperature.  In my case it’s usually closer to 2 hours.
11. Bake (Steam or Dutch Oven highly recommended) at 190C for 15 minutes and an additional 10-15 minutes at 230C.  I know the temperatures look wrong, especially the initial 190C.  These are the ones I use.  Bear in mind that the dough contains sugar and milk powder, so it can turn dark and set real fast if your temperature setting is too high.
12. Take out from the oven and let it sit for at least one hour before consuming.

And some pictures.....  It came out really beautiful today.

I made a beautiful boule too.....

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my son does (I love it as well :-).  Stay safe all.