Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough pumpkin focaccia 9 by 13 loaf with herbs on top.

4.80 from 5 votes

Soft and crispy, this sourdough pumpkin focaccia bread is the perfect blend of flavors and texture. With fresh herbs and canned pumpkin mixed into the sourdough focaccia dough, you're going to love this savory twist on sourdough focaccia.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Fermentation Time20

Total Time20 55

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

9 by 13 metal pan or 12 inch round metal pan
mixing bowl
kitchen scale

Ingredients

Levain (1:10:10, overnight ready in about 10-12 hours at 78ºF)

5 grams sourdough starter ripe, bubbly and active, about 1 teaspoon
55 grams all-purpose or bread flour scant 1/2 cup
55 grams water about 1/4 cup

Savory Sourdough Pumpkin Focaccia

100 grams levain ripe, bubbly and active, scant 1/2 cup
150 grams canned pumpkin see recipe notes, about 2/3 cup
350 grams water about 1 1/2 cups
10 grams salt about 1.5 teaspoons
4 grams chopped rosemary about 1 Tablespoon
2 grams poultry seasoning herb blend or ground sage, about 1 teaspoon
500 grams bread flour about 3 2/3 cups
60 grams olive oil for the pan/topping, about 1/4 cup
fresh chopped rosemary for sprinkling
fresh chopped sage or oregano or any favorite herb for sprinkling
flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Levain (1:10:10, overnight ready in about 10-12 hours at 78ºF)

Mix together 5 grams ripe sourdough starter with 55 grams water and 55 grams flour. Cover and let sit overnight at 78ºF until doubled in size, bubbly and active.
You can also substitute 100 grams of bubbly sourdough starter if you prefer.

Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia

Mix: Mix together ripe, bubbly, active levain with canned pumpkin, water, salt, rosemary, poultry seasoning (or sage) and bread flour. Mix together with a dough whisk or spoon until a sticky dough forms. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold # 1: Take the cover off the dough and perform 4-6 coil folds. The dough will be sticky for this first set of coil folds but will strengthen over time. Wet your hands with water. Place your hands under the middle of the dough and pull up. The dough will stretch up (but should not tear) and release from the bottom of the bowl. Once the dough releases, let the dough fall back under itself. Repeat the process for both sides of dough. Then turn the container and repeat the coil fold. Watch a video of the coil fold process here. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold #2: Wet your hands. You will notice the dough is stronger than your first set of folds. Repeat the coil folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold #3: Wet your hands. Repeat the sets of coil folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold #4: Repeat the last set of coil folds. Cover and rest the dough at 78ºF for 1.5-2 hours until the dough has risen, is starting to dome and has a few scattered bubbles around the edges. Note, the dough will not double in size at this point, but it will rise 30-40% if kept around 78ºF.
Note: Dough that is colder will need to rise longer to reach this stage. Warmer dough will progress faster.
Prepare the Pan: After the long bulk rest, prepare a 9 by 13 metal baking pan with 40 grams (2-3 Tbsp) of the olive oil. Tip the pan around to coat the entire bottom of the pan. If your pan has issues with dough sticking add some parchment paper down before the oil.
Stretch the Dough: Turn the dough out into the pan and stretch slowly to fill the edges of the pan. Pull up gently on the underside of the dough to stretch it into place. If it doesn't want to stretch, let the dough rest for a minute and then try again. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil (1-2 Tbsp, 20 grams) on top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap to proof. At this point you can cover the dough and refrigerate it for up to 48 hours before proceeding with a second proof and baking.
Proof the Dough: Let the dough sit in a warm 78-80ºF place for 3-5 hours until doubled in size, puffed up and very airy. If the dough doesn't look like this, warm it up a little more and let it rise longer.
Dimple the Dough: After the dough is puffed up, jiggly and aerated with air bubbles, pre-heat the oven to 425ºF. Take your fingers and gently dimple the dough. Start at the top and work your way down the dough until the entire focaccia is dimpled and bubbly. Top with chopped fresh herbs and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Bake Focaccia: Once the oven is pre-heated to 425ºF, bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly, crispy and light golden brown on top and the baked focaccia registers 200ºF. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Starter: I make a levain for all of my sourdough recipes because it gives more consistent results. If you don’t want to use that method, you can substitute ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter for the same amount of levain.

Bread Flour: This is a high hydration recipe. If you choose to use a flour with a lower protein content than bread flour (lower than 12.5%), you will want to decrease the water in the recipe.

Olive Oil: Choose an olive oil that you like the flavor of. It will transfer over to the flavor of the baked dough. I prefer a light tasting olive oil.

Canned Pumpkin: Canned pumpkin has less liquid than homemade pumpkin puree. If you choose to use homemade pumpkin puree, leave some of the water out of the dough. Drizzle it back in only once you get a feel for how we the dough is. Adding too much liquid can make this dough very difficult to work with.

Nutrition