Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This easy Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is made with real pumpkin puree, pumpkin spices, and lots of chocolate chips for an irresistible fall sourdough discard recipe!

When I created my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, I thought the batter was so good, that I wanted to try it in a bread loaf pan to make pumpkin bread. With only a couple of minor tweaks, this sourdough pumpkin bread was born!

There’s no oil in the recipe, so all of the moisture comes from sourdough discard, brown sugar, melted butter, and real pumpkin puree.

The combo of chocolate and pumpkin goes so well together and takes the sourdough pumpkin bread to the next level. It’s one of my favorite fall sourdough discard recipes to make, and I know you’ll love it!

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s made with real pumpkin:
  • This sourdough discard pumpkin bread is made with real pumpkin puree! Like banana or zucchini bread, pumpkin bread is a great way to add fruits or veggies to baked goods.
  • I like baking with pumpkin because it adds a subtle earthy flavor, natural orange color, and moisture to baked goods.
• Full of chocolate chips:
  • Sometimes, chocolate chip recipes hold back from the chocolate, but I love the bittersweet addition of chocolate chips to otherwise sweet baked goods and this one has a lot!
  • Like my sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, I like adding the chocolate chips to balance the flavors without overpowering the pumpkin spices.
• It’s an easy, quick recipe with minimal tools:
  • There’s no fermenting in this recipe since the bread uses sourdough discard. The baking powder, baking soda, and eggs do all of the leavening. That way, the bread rises tall in the oven.
  • Furthermore, this batter will be recognizable if you’ve made my pumpkin muffins or pumpkin whoopie pies. Essentially, you can make multiple recipes using the same batter! You only need a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a bread loaf pan. And you don’t need a mixer for the recipe.
• It stores easily:
  • Sweet bread loaf recipes like this store really well, which makes them great to make ahead, gift, or travel with.
  • You can freeze the whole loaf or slices ahead of time and easily wrap to store for months in the freezer.
• No oil:
  • I only use butter in this recipe as the fat and don’t use vegetable oil. Like my Sourdough Zucchini Bread and Sourdough Banana Bread recipes, I try to avoid using too much vegetable oil in recipes because it doesn’t add any flavor!
  • Instead, the melted butter and chocolate chips add richness, tenderness, and flavor to the bread.

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🔍 Tips for Making the Best Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

• Don’t overmix the batter
  • Overmixing leads to gluten development, which will create a tough batter. Like cake or pastry, you want to limit the mixing here so you get a tender and soft bread.
• Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
  • Like my Sourdough Pumpkin Waffles, only use real pumpkin puree in this recipe. Pumpkin pie filling includes sugar and spices, so using it will cause the bread to be too sweet.
• Use pumpkin pie spice or a mix of spices
  • You can use pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice or make your own mix of spices for this recipe. I include both options in the recipe, so you can choose based on what you have around!
• Prep the bread loaf pan
  • Line your bread loaf pan with parchment paper and spray the pan with non-stick spray (or grease with oil) before baking. That way, the bread won’t stick to the pan and you can easily lift it up and out of the pan.
• Let the pumpkin bread cool completely before slicing
  • It’s so tempting to slice into this fragrant pumpkin bread before it’s cooled completely! But if you slice into the bread too early, it will lose moisture from excess steam release.
  • Plus, the loaf will crumble and easily break apart while still warm.

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🛠 Tools Needed:

Click the links below for my tool recommendations.

• Baking Scale
  • Regarding sourdough starter, it’s important to note that standard measurements can differ greatly depending on the individual. Therefore, weighing will provide the most accurate results.
• Bread Loaf Pan
  • This recipe makes one bread loaf. You can easily double the batter to make more.
  • My favorite bread loaf pan is this 9×4” small Pullman Pan with straight sides and a natural non-stick coating. This pan is great for making other sandwich loaves like my sourdough sandwich bread or sourdough brioche.
  • Otherwise, the recipe is flexible enough to fit into either a 8.5×4.5” or 9×5” bread loaf pan, which are both standard sizes. If you have one, I recommend the smaller size so the loaf will rise taller and be less squat.
  • Additionally, you will need to adjust the baking times depending on the size of your pans. A 9×5” pan will bake a little faster because the batter is spread out over a larger surface area.
• Whisk
• Spatula, for scraping the sides of the bowl and folding in the chocolate chips

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🛒 Ingredients Needed:

Click on the links below for my favorite ingredient recommendations. Ingredient substitutions are also listed below.

• All-purpose Flour
  • This recipe has only a cup of flour, not including the sourdough discard. All-purpose works best, but you’re welcome to substitute some of it with whole wheat flour if you’d like.
• Baking Powder
  • This bread batter isn’t fermented, so the sourdough doesn’t add leavening to the recipe. The baking powder and baking soda are the mechanical leaveners that both help the bread rise tall.
• Baking Soda
  • Both baking powder and soda go bad over time. Learn how to test yours here.
• Salt
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • Pumpkin pie spice, or pumpkin spice, is a pre-mixed spice of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. If you have it, you can use it directly in this recipe! 
  • However, you can also use the individual spices if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice. To make your own pumpkin pie spice for this recipe, combine 1 tsp of cinnamon, and ¼ tsp each of ground nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice.
• Pumpkin Puree
  • Pumpkin puree is 100% canned pumpkin, or squash. Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin is the best quality and very consistent. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling since it’s already sweetened and spiced.
  • If you want to go the extra mile, you can also roast your own pumpkin or squash and puree it to use in the recipe.
• Light Brown Sugar
  • Brown sugar provides sweetness and also adds more moisture and flavor from the added molasses. This complements the warming pumpkin spices.
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips here.
• Vanilla Extract
• Unsalted Butter, melted
  • There’s no oil in this recipe. The melted butter adds richness and needed fat for moisture.
• Semi-sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
  • Semi-sweet or bittersweet mini chocolate chips add a slight bitterness to the loaf that balances the flavors.
  • I like the mini sizes for topping, which distribute easily throughout the loaf and barely melt on top. Mini chocolate chips don’t sink either! However, you can use regular-sized chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips too.

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👨‍🍳 How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Follow this visual and detailed recipe guide as you make this sourdough pumpkin bread.

1. Prep the Bread Loaf Pan and Mix the Dry Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).

Then, grease or spray a bread loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper. Leave some overhang on the sides to easily lift the bread out of the pan after baking.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, including:

• 120 grams of all-purpose flour (one cup)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
  • Alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice.

Set aside.

2. Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the following wet ingredients:

• 337 grams of pumpkin puree (1 ½ cups)
• 104 grams of light brown sugar (½ cup)
• 50 grams of granulated sugar (¼ cup)
• 2 eggs
• 120 grams of sourdough discard (½ cup)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Then, pour in 85 grams of melted unsalted butter (6 TBS).

Whisk in the melted butter until the mixture is bright orange and shiny.

3. Mix the Pumpkin Bread Batter

Pour the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and slowly mix until mostly combined.

It’s okay if there are some little lumps or white specks of flour because you’ll mix the batter more in the next step.

4. Fold in the Chocolate Chips

Use a spatula to fold 180 grams (¾ cup) of mini chocolate chips to the batter.

To fold in the chocolate chips, use the spatula to scoop to the bottom of the bowl, lift, and flip the spatula over onto itself.

Rotate the bowl slightly and repeat until the chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

As you’re folding, be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so that all of the batter gets mixed.

5. Bake

Pour the sourdough pumpkin bread batter into the prepared bread loaf pan and smooth out the top of the batter with a spatula.

Sprinkle the top of the pumpkin bread with about 60 grams (¼ cup) of more chocolate chips.

Another option is to sprinkle the tops with pumpkin seeds or leave the top plain.

The chocolate chips on top will melt slightly, but still hold their shape during baking. As the loaf cools, they will set for a slightly crunchy topping.

Bake the bread at 350ºF (177ºC) for about 55-65 minutes.

Finally, cool on a wire rack completely before slicing.

Cooling is important so that the bread doesn’t lose too much moisture and so the chocolate chip topping sets some.

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How to Store Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Loaf breads like this store extremely well, which makes them excellent gifts to make ahead of time, or for traveling!

At room temperature, you can wrap the sourdough pumpkin bread in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store for 4-5 days.

You can get a week out of the bread if stored in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze?

Sourdough pumpkin bread freezes very well and you can freeze the entire loaf or freeze slices. These are both great options if you’d like to make the pumpkin bread ahead of gatherings.

I recommend leaving off the chocolate chip topping if freezing because the chocolate chips can turn slightly white or off-color in the freezer.

To freeze the entire loaf, be sure that the pumpkin bread is completely cool. Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Thaw it completely in the refrigerator at least overnight before slicing.

To freeze slices, cut slices of the bread, wrap them tightly, and store in freezer-safe bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat slices in a toaster oven.

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❓ Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread FAQs:

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