Will you look at these Potato Rolls! 😍
Living in the US, one of the things I really missed was good German bread. The Germans make excellent dark bread, rye and all kinds of grainy deliciousness. And now that I live in Germany, I would give my right arm for a slice of Wonder Bread.
I’m kidding, of course! But what I really do miss are the rolls... Dinner rolls, potato rolls, Hawaiian rolls, Parker House rolls... 😋 Hard to come by in the land of Pumpernickel, so I have to help myself and get to baking. Which is how I can wholeheartedly recommend these Potato Rolls for your Thanksgiving feast. Sometimes having to make things yourself because you can’t buy them is a blessing because it forces you out of your comfort zone and that’s when things happen in the kitchen that can be a) catastrophic or b) amazing. These rolls are definitely of the b) category! I came by Megan Keno's recipe via simplyrecipes.com and hardly changed a thing (unusual for me, I know!), except for adding a teaspoon more salt and substituting Italian seasoning for the rosemary. I also just used melted butter and coarse salt for the topping instead of the suggested honey butter. Enjoy! xoxo Donata
If you're not already making mashed potatoes for your meal, roast or boil one large (12 ounce) russet potato to use in this recipe.
I usually make this recipe with unseasoned mashed potatoes that haven't been mixed with butter or dairy, but have also made them with leftover seasoned mashed potatoes. With seasoned mashed potatoes, you may end up needing to use a little extra flour.
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes
Inactive rising time: 2 hours
Yields: 16 to 20 rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
1/2 cup water, room temperature
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 packet) active-dry or instant yeast
1 teaspoon plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons regular salted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves (or 2 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning)
2 1/2 teaspoon salt (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp, but I found it needed a bit more oomph)
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
For honey butter topping:
1/4 cup regular salted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
Substitution: 1/4 cup melted salted butter and some coarse salt.
Method
Proof the yeast: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, the yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture looks bubbly. If the mixture doesn't start to bubble, then your yeast has likely expired and it's best to start over with new yeast.
Mix the dough: Add the remaining sugar, mashed potatoes, milk, butter, eggs, rosemary, and salt to the bowl with the yeast mixture and stir with a spatula until smooth. Add 4 1/2 cups of the flour and mix until you form a shaggy dough.
Knead the dough: With a dough hook attachment (or on the counter, if kneading by hand) knead on medium-low for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is smooth, forms a ball around the dough hook, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (it's fine if the dough sticks to the bottom of the bowl). If the dough is still sticking to the sides after few minutes of kneading, add in a little more flour 2 tablespoons at a time.
Let the dough rise: Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size.
Shape the dough into rolls: Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. Turn the dough the out onto lightly floured surface and cut into 16 to 20 equal pieces. Roll the dough into small balls, and place seam side down in the baking dish.
Cover and let the rolls rise until puffed and nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour. About 15 minutes before the rolls are ready, heat the oven to 350F.
Bake for the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown on top and register 200F on the inside when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
Brush the rolls with honey butter: In a small dish, mix together 1/4 cup room temperature butter and 2 tablespoons honey until smooth. Brush tops of baked rolls with mixture, then sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool slightly before serving. If substituting just butter and salt, brush with the melted butter and then sprinkle with salt.
Recipe by Megan Keno via Simply Recipes.