Pumpkin levain bread

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veganseeds on 29 Sep 2014 at 05:58

I had some leftover cooked squash from a pumpkin pie, and a hankering to make bread, so I adapted Shiao-Ping's Pumpkin Sourdough with Coconut and Orange (http://weightloss-slim.fit/node/12795/pumpkin-sourdough-coconut-amp-orange%3C/a%3E%29 to make a simple pumpkin sourdough (no coconut or orange).

I didn't let it rise enough before it went into the oven so there's some excessive oven spring going on, but the taste is delicious, and it's fluffy and light, surprising for a bread with pumpkin and levain and 30% whole wheat.  Actually, it's my first bread made without any commercial yeast, and it's a revelation for me.  I can't wait to do more!

I didn't know what to do with the ingredients that Shiao-Ping had posted, so I roughly followed dmsnyder's instructions for San Joaquin 21-hour sourdough that I found here: http://weightloss-slim.fit/node/17373/san-joaquin-sourdough-still-favorite%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIf anyone likes the idea of this pumpkin sourdough I can post the adjustments I made to Shiao-Ping's recipe and the procedure I followed. :)

One of the first breads i made from this site was Shiao Ping's Turmeric SD Bread.  I made it with yeast water and looks just like yours does on the inside - with that beautiful yellow color :-)  Sadly.... She doesn't post much anymore and I miss her great creative breads, write ups and photography.   Your bread has some explosive spring. something I don't get even when i want it !  That is some beautiful baking   They say that many folks keep yeast in their SD breads because they don't realty trust their starter to do the job by itself  Your bread proves you won't be using commercial yeast in SD bread ever again :-)  Well Done and

Happy baking

post to the clipboard befor hitting save:-) 

One of the first breads i made from this site was Shiao Ping's Turmeric SD Bread.  I made it with yeast water and looks just like yours does on the inside - with that beautiful yellow color :-)  Sadly.... She doesn't post much anymore and I miss her great creative breads, write ups and photography.   Your bread has some explosive spring. something I don't get even when i want it !  That is some beautiful baking   They say that many folks keep yeast in their SD breads because they don't realty trust their starter to do the job by itself  Your bread proves you won't be using commercial yeast in SD bread ever again :-)  Well Done and

Happy baking

Thank you! :)  Shiao-Ping truly makes bread (and tea rooms, and passing birds) seem so wonderful in her blog.  Since I'm new to the site, it's all new to me, so I didn't realize she isn't posting anymore.

I think the explosive spring was from adding too much starter - after I refreshed it and let it sit on the counter all day, it didn't have the tangy smell that I was expecting, so since I thought it was underdeveloped I added more than the recipe called for.  Or could it be the sugars in the pumpkin that gave the SD an extra kick?

But you are right, I'm hooked on sourdough now, this has given me a whole new perspective on bread ...

Speaking of yeast water, I've tried to look up instructions on TFL but found it confusing.  Do you have a tutorial or recipe you could recommend?  Thanks. :)

Anyways thanks a lot for the encouragement!  Look out for gremlins!  At least they don't steal our bread... ;)