Okay so I'm actually kind of losing it right now. The pumpkin shaped loaves are officially back for the fall season and I've been baking them non-stop this week. Like, I'm talking waking up at 5 AM to get these guys started before my homeschool stuff kicks in. My mom thinks I'm a little crazy for being this excited about pumpkin bread in September, but honestly? This is what I live for.
The thing about pumpkin shaped loaves that makes them actually tricky is that you can't just do a regular round boule shape. I've been getting creative with how I score them and shape them during the final proofing, and it's been such a cool challenge. The dough itself is still my classic sourdough, nothing fancy flavor-wise. It's all about the shape and the scoring to make them look like actual pumpkins.
Yeaston, my starter, has been absolutely thriving with the regular feeding schedule I've been keeping up with. I was worried at first that the extra attention these shaped loaves require would throw off my routine, but honestly it's been fine. The fermentation timing has stayed pretty consistent, which is nice.
My bulk fermentation timing has had to shift a little because of the Vegas heat, even though we're getting into the cooler months now. I still can't leave these doughs out for like eight hours straight like people do in cooler climates. I'm doing my stretch and folds every thirty minutes for about two hours, then letting it finish in a slightly cooler spot in my house. It's kind of become second nature at this point since I've been baking here for under a year now and pretty much all of that time has been figuring out the desert heat situation.
The scoring on these pumpkin loaves is where I get to have the most fun. I've been experimenting with different patterns that actually look like pumpkin ridges instead of just random cuts. My dad helped me figure out a technique where I'm scoring deeper than I normally would so the oven spring really pops those ridges out. When they come out of the Dutch oven, they legitimately look like little mini pumpkins. The crust color is perfect too, this deep golden brown that looks super seasonal.
I've got a waiting list already, which is kind of wild to think about. When I started Rise and Grind just doing this for fun, I never thought people would actually line up for my bread. But here we are. If you're local and want to grab one before they sell out, hit me up soon. I'm baking every other day through October and I have a feeling these won't last long.
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