Sweet Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia
Soft and sweet sourdough pumpkin focaccia bread is the perfect fall treat. 100% natural yeast sourdough pumpkin focaccia is filled with ribbons of cinnamon sugar and topped with a sweet cream cheese icing. This is the perfect bread for pumpkin spice season!
Servings: 12 slices
Equipment
- 12 inch round or 9 by 13 pan
Ingredients
Levain (1:10:10 ratio, ready in 10-12 hours at 78ºF)
- 5 grams ripe, active sourdough starter about 1 teaspoon
- 55 grams all-purpose flour scant 1/2 cup
- 55 grams water about 4 Tablespoons
Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia Dough
- 100 grams levain scant 1/2 cup
- 300 grams water about 1 1/4 cups
- 150 grams pumpkin puree, canned not pumpkin pie filling, see recipe notes for homemade puree, about 2/3 cup
- 10 grams salt about 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 500 grams bread flour about 3 1/2 cups
- 20 grams olive oil reserved for pan, about 1.5 Tablespoons
- 55 grams unsalted butter, melted reserved for baking, about 4 Tablespoons total
Focaccia Filling
- 100 grams granulated sugar reserved for shaping
- 6 grams pumpkin pie spice about 1 Tablespoon
- 2 grams ground cinnamon about 1/2 teaspoon
Cream Cheese Icing
- 75 grams cream cheese, softened about 6 Tablespoons
- 45 grams unsalted butter, softened about 3 Tablespoons
- 60 grams powdered sugar about 1/2 cup
- 30 grams whole milk about 2 Tablespoons
- 3 grams vanilla extract about 3/4 teaspoon
- pinch of salt to taste
Instructions
Levain (1:10:10 ratio, ready in 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.
Sweet Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia
- Mix: Mix together ripe, bubbly, active levain with water, canned pumpkin, salt 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 very 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, noticing how the dough is changing and strengthening over time. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Coil Fold #3: Wet your hands. Perform 3-4 coil folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Coil Fold #4: Repeat the last set of coil folds.
- Finish Bulk Fermentation: Cover and rest the dough at 78ºF for 2.5-3 hours until the dough has risen about 50-60% in the bowl.
- Prepare Filling: Mix together granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon until combined.
- Prepare the Pan: After the long bulk rest, line a 12 inch round or 9 by 13 metal baking pan with parchment paper. Pour 20 grams light-flavored olive oil in the pan and 25 grams of melted butter. Tip the pan around to coat the entire bottom of the parchment paper.
- Shape the Dough: Dump the focaccia dough into the pan and spread out with your fingers. Pour half of the focaccia filling on top of the focaccia dough. Fold the dough in half and sprinkle the rest of the mixture on the dough. Fold again. At this point the dough will be all together in the middle of the pan. Don't worry about spreading it out yet.Optional: Cover the dough and refrigerate it for up to 48 hours before proceeding with a second proof and baking.
- Proof the Dough: Cover the dough and let it sit in a warm 78-80ºF place for 2-3 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, gently spread the dough out to fill the edges of the pan. Pour 25 grams of melted butter on top of the dough. 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.
- Bake Focaccia: Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF. Once the oven is pre-heated, bake the focaccia 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.
- Cream Cheese Icing: While the focaccia bakes, whisk together softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt until it forms an icing. Spread over warm focaccia and 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 is light in flavor and taste. An extra virgin olive oil often has more olive flavor than a light-tasting olive oil, which can transfer over to the sweet focaccia dough.
Pumpkin: Homemade pumpkin puree is typically thinner and has more water than canned pumpkin. If you choose to use homemade puree, add a little less water or more flour to make the dough manageable.
Nutrition
Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2192IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg
