Air Fryer Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Bread Recipe
Get ready to bring the warm, cozy flavors of fall into your kitchen with this delightful air fryer sourdough pumpkin spice bread. This easy and straightforward recipe is perfect for beginners, and baking it in the air fryer makes it so convenient!
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Small bowl
- Cotton cloth or tea towel
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Tongs (optional)
- Cooking spray or oil (for greasing the parchment)
- Rice flour (highly recommended for dusting, or you can use all purpose flour)
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 200 grams all purpose flour
- 75 grams pumpkin puree
- 40 grams active sourdough starter
- 20 grams maple syrup
- 80 grams filtered water
- 5 grams salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
For the Mix-ins
- 25 grams pumpkin puree (strained)
- 50 grams brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3 tbsp toasted chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
Note before starting:
- Starting in the morning or early afternoon is recommended, as the sourdough needs time to bulk ferment before placing it in the fridge overnight. I usually take my sourdough starter out of the fridge around 7am, feed it, and it becomes active enough to use by 11am. This is when I start with the next steps to prepare the dough. Note, I live where it's almost always hot, so my fermentation times are generally quicker.
Prepare the Dough
- In a mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, active sourdough starter, maple syrup, filtered water, salt, and cinnamon. Give it a mix, but don't worry about it not being fully incorporated yet.
- Add the flour to the bowl, and stir continuously to form a tacky dough. Lightly knead the dough with your hands until it comes together. Note, certain brands of flour absorb water differently, so if you feel the dough is too dry, add about a teaspoon of water at a time. If it sticks too much to your hands, add a teaspoon of flour at a time.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. This allows the flour to absorb the water.
- While you wait, strain the pumpkin puree that you'll use for the mix-in. You can do this by placing it onto a cheesecloth, a tea towel, or a thin cotton hand towel, and then squeezing some of the juice out. I have made this bread with and without straining the puree. If you choose not to strain it, the dough will be fairly wet, but it will still work! It'll just be a higher hydration sourdough bread (which is trickier to work with, but just as delicious).
Add Mix-ins, and Perform Stretch and Folds
- Flatten the dough out along the bottom of your bowl (or do this on a clean, non-floured countertop), and then place the mix-ins on top: pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and optional pecans.
- Grab one edge of the dough and pull it upwards to let it stretch out. Bring the stretched part of the dough to the center. Grab the opposite side of the bread and do the same thing: stretch it upwards and bring it to the middle. Do this again with the other two sides of the dough (to complete 4 stretches).
- Gently knead the dough until the mix-ins are fully incorporated. This can take a couple of minutes. If your dough feels abnormally wet, don't worry; the hydration is a bit high in this sourdough pumpkin spice bread.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 1 hour.
- Do a set of stretch and folds: bring one side of the dough upwards, then fold onto the center. Repeat with the other three sides.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for another hour.
- Repeat another set of stretch and folds.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for another hour.
- Repeat one last set of stretch and folds.
First Bulk Fermentation
- Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 6 hours to bulk ferment. During this time, it will grow in size. The final timing will depend on the temperature in your home; the colder it is, the slower it'll rise. The warmer it is, the faster it'll rise.How to Tell When Bulk Fermentation is Complete1. The dough grew in size (note it doesn't always have to double in size). 2. The top surface of the dough has an arched or curved shape. 3. Bubbles appear under the top surface of the dough (if you use a glass mixing bowl, you can easily spot the bubbles). 4. The dough jiggles or wobbles when you gently shake the bowl, which means it's lighter and more airy than when you first started.
Shape the Dough
- Once the first bulk fermentation is complete, do one last stretch and fold, and then form it into a ball by turning (or slowly spinning) it a few times towards you. This creates tension and gives it a good shape once baked. You can do this in the same mixing bowl, or on a very lightly floured countertop.
Second (Cold) Fermentation
- Line a small bowl with a thin hand towel or tea towel, and dust it liberally with rice flour (or all purpose flour if you don't have rice flour).
- Place dough on top of the towel and cover with plastic wrap.
- Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator overnight, or for 12-18 hours.
Prepare for Baking
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (205°C).
- If you have parchment paper cutouts for your air fryer, grab one of those. Otherwise, cut enough parchment to line the bottom of your air fryer pan (make sure to leave the parchment out of the air fryer while it preheats). Grease parchment with cooking spray or oil.
- Remove dough from the bowl and flip it over so that the bottom side is up. If you used rice flour, brush the excess off using a pastry brush or your fingers (all purpose flour absorbs into the dough, whereas rice flour does not). Don't worry about getting all of the rice flour off; it's perfectly fine to leave it there.
- Score the top of the dough with a razor or sharp knife to allow for controlled expansion (although it won't expand too much when baking in the air fryer).
- Place the dough on top of the parchment. Once the air fryer is preheated, carefully transfer the parchment paper with dough into it.
Bake the Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Bread
- Bake the dough on either the "bake" or the "air fry" setting at 370°F (190°C) for 15 minutes. At this point you will need to flip it over to ensure an even bake throughout.
- Flip the dough over (using tongs will help) and bake it again at 370°F (190°C) for another 15 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on.
- Remove the bread from the air fryer and let it rest on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before cutting into it. This is important, as it will continue to "cook" during this time, and also if you cut into it too soon the texture will turn gummy.Note, not all air fryers bake the same, so you may need to adjust the baking times or the temperature. To be sure it's done, tap on both sides of the bread and listen for a hollow sound, and remember to let it rest at least 1 hour before cutting into it.
Notes
- Feel free to customize this recipe by adding some dried cranberries or raisins to the mix-ins for extra sweetness. You can also use walnuts or almonds in place of the optional pecans. And, if you love stronger flavors, add some cinnamon and/or nutmeg to the dough ingredients.
- Make sure your sourdough starter is fed and actively bubbly for the best rise and texture. If your starter is not active, and/or your dough doesn't complete its first fermentation, the bread will not fully bake in the middle no matter how much time you bake it for, or the temperature you use. This is considered an under proofed dough.
- Contrarily, if you leave the dough out for too long after it has increased in size during the first fermentation, it will likely over proof, and your bread may come out dense.
- After the cold fermentation is done, remove the dough from the fridge and bake it right away; do not let it come to room temperature first.
- The reason we use rice flour for dusting during the final stage is because it won't absorb into your bread like the all purpose flour does. Additionally, it prevents the dough from sticking to the cloth or tea towel better. However, if you don't already have rice flour, no need to go out and buy some. You can still use all purpose flour. If you plan on baking more breads at home, I do recommend purchasing some rice flour though :)
- The size of my air fryer is 4 quarts, and this recipe works well in it. It will also work just fine in larger air fryers. Most air fryers are able to accommodate small to medium-sized loaves, however.
- To store the sourdough pumpkin spice bread, keep it in a large ziplock bag or an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. To store it longer, you can freeze the slices. When ready to enjoy, remove from freezer, let it thaw at room temperature, and toast as needed.
- If you are making more than one loaf and want to freeze the second one, let it first completely cool, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then place it in a freezer ziplock bag. When you're ready to enjoy it, remove from freezer, let it thaw at room temperature, wet the bread under your sink or spritz it with a spray bottle, then bake it in your air fryer at 325°F (162°C) for 5-8 minutes. This helps the exterior crisp back up while warming the interior.