Sweet Potato Rolls

What is better than a nice soft roll?

My mom is a lover of rolls.  I can’t count the number of times she has said, I will make rolls, or what about a soft roll with that?  I, honestly, don’t think about rolls too often outside of holidays.  My sister contends that is is because rolls often accompany Sunday Dinners of yore, and I think she might be right.  But you know what?  They are fabulous and a good fit for many occasions.  And Thanksgiving is definitely one of those occasions that calls for a nice soft dinner roll, so I think I will add these to the table for next week’s festivities.

While my mom loves rolls, I can tell you unequivocally that I love sweet potatoes.  Love them, love them, love them.  Seriously, I cannot get enough of them.  So a roll that incorporates sweet potato?  Yes, please!  It is sure to be a family favorite.

 

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Sweet Potato Rolls

It is best to make the dough the day before you want to bake the rolls, but they can be done all in one day if you give yourself enough time.
Servings 24 rolls

Ingredients

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup freshly mashed sweet potatoes microwave or roast the sweet potatoes, then mash
  • 1 cup warm water 95 to 100° F
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water whisked together for an egg wash
  • melted butter for the pan

Instructions

  1. To make the dough, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low just to combine. Stir the butter into the warm mashed potatoes and stir until it is melted and mixed well. Add the water, the potato mixture, and the eggs to the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 4 minutes until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and scrape the dough away from the hook. Raise the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes more, kneading the dough with the dough hook a bit. The dough may be sticky and stick to the bowl, which is fine.
  2. Remove the dough from the bowl and spray or oil the bowl, then put the dough back in and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and let rise overnight (if making all in one day, let it rise for about 2-3 hours total at room temperature, until well doubled). The day you want to bake the rolls, bring the dough to room temperature for about 30 minutes, then divide the dough into even pieces 24 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a ball.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease cake or pie pans with some melted butter. Place the balls of dough in the pan leaving plenty of room between for rising and oven spring. In a typical glass pie plate, I can fit about 7, in a larger pie plate, I can fit 9 or so. If you end up with an odd number, you can tuck them in here and there, or bake them in muffin tins or individual custard cups. Brush the rolls with the egg wash, and save the rest of the egg wash for a second brush right before baking. Let rise for about an hour.
  4. When the rolls are done rising, they will appear puffed, but they do not need to be touching.
  5. Brush them again with the egg wash and then bake until deeply golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. A thermometer inserted into the center should read above 200F to make sure they are done.