Potato Dinner Rolls – Homemade dinner rolls made with 1 cup mashed Russett potatoes to give them a pillowy texture. They have a sturdy, yet fluffy texture that makes them great as dinner rolls or slider buns.
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Eek! We have no clue who’s hosting this year so we gotta get on it. It’ll be here before we know it!
One thing is for sure – I love making dinner rolls for those holiday meals. They come out better than anything I’ve purchased from a store. This year, I wanted to tackle a new roll for me – the potato roll. And to my surprise, they were super easy to make!
The process is very similar to my basic dough recipe, except this recipe uses bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. It gives the roll more structure so it can hold up against any turkey or roast beef. And it also makes a great slider!
Here are my Potato Dinner Rolls!
What are potato rolls?
When I first had potato bread, I didn’t believe that there was potato in them. But there really is! The potato in the dough actually feeds the yeast better so the dough rises fast. The potato also creates a fluffy texture that sets them apart from any other roll you’ve had.
Making the dough
Before we form the dough, you have to cook the potato and mash it up. To do this, just boil them in unsalted water until tender. I use my potato ricer to mash the potato super fine and ensure no lumps were in the rolls. Next, the butter is added to the potato and mixed until melted.
The cooled potato is added to the flour, yeast and salt and combined. Some of the leftover water from boiling the potatoes is added to the egg and some sugar and mixed together. The wet ingredients are then mixed into the dry ingredients until the dough forms. It’s kneaded for about 8 minutes until soft and smooth.
Baking the rolls
After the dough is formed, it’s left to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. The dough is then punched down and split into 12 even portions. Each piece is rolled into a ball and placed in a greased 9×13 baking dish. They’re left to rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Finally, the rolls are brushed with an egg wash, sprinkled with salt, and baked until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.
Tips & Tricks
- Cool potato completely. Do not add hot potato to the dough mixture. If you do, you can risk killing the yeast.
- Firmly pack potato. After mashing the potato, you need to measure out 1 cup to use in the dough. Make sure you firmly pack in the potato to fit into the cup.
- Even sizes = even baking. it’s important to make the rolls all the same size, not only to make your guests happy, but to ensure they all bake evenly. If some are bigger than others, the tops may brown faster but cook slower than the smaller ones.
Potato Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
For the yeast rolls:
- 1 large Russett potato about 10 ounces
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 12⅓ ounces bread flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg wash
- flakey sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Peel and dice potato into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium sauce pan and cover with water to about 1 inch over the potatoes. Place it over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are soft, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of potato water. Drain potatoes and place back into sauce pan.
- Place saucepan over low heat and stir potatoes gently. This process will remove excess water from the potatoes. It should only take 30 seconds. Remove from heat and push potatoes through a food mill or masher. Measue 1 cup of potato, firmly packed into the measuring cup. Toss leftovers. Add butter to 1 cup of potato in a small bowl and toss together until butter is melted and combined with potato. Set aside until cool.
- Attach bowl to stand mixer and fit mixer with dough hook (you can mix by hand, if you don't have a mixer). Add flour, yeast and salt and mix on low to combine. Add cooled potato mixture and mix together. In a separate bowl, mix 5 tablespoons of reserved potato water, sugar, and 1 large egg. Slowly add to flour mixture while mixer is on low. Increase speed to medium low to help everything combine.
- Once dough has formed and no longer shaggy, turn up speed to medium and knead dough for 8 minutes. The dough is ready when it's soft and slightly elastic. Place dough ball in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let it rise for 1 hour. It should be double in size.
- Punch down risen dough and remove from bowl. Place on clean counter with a little sprinkled flour. Cut dough into 3 even slices. Cut each slice into 4 even pieces. You should have 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, tucking under the edges to form a ball. Place all the ball into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Cover with a towel and let them rise again for 45 minutes. At the 30-minute mark, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Remove towel from rolls and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle flakey sea salk on top of each roll. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until deep brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with butter. Or use as slider buns for mini sandwiches!
- Leftover rolls can be stored in a plastic storage bag for a couple days or frozen for a month or so. Rolls can be reheated in microwave for 30 seconds.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Parker House Dinner Rolls
Sweet Yeast Rolls
Pumpkin Challah Bread
Thanks for such an amazing recipe, we tried last weekend and they came out perfect!
These rolls came out absolutely perfect and so delicious and fluffy! I would have never think of using potatoes to make bread rolls, but it really works! The taste and texture are fantastic!
I love these rolls!! I am sure that they are going to be such a hit on Thanksgiving, thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
These were a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes from dinner the other night. They came out fantastic and were so easy.
This is the first time I made dinner rolls. I was surprised how easy they were to make. They turned out perfect.
We had a many Friendsgiving this week and thought these would be a nice addition. Everyone really like them.
I have never tried to make this but it looks delicious and easy. I’ll be saving the recipe and I will make this bread this weekend.
Awesome! This potato dinner roll simply looks so delicious and yummy! An afternoon snack paired with any spread will add more flavor to this! Totally loved it!
These were a childhood favorite! I tried your recipe and they’re just as tasty as I remember. Thanks!
I have never heard of Potato dinner rolls before! My kids would EAT THIS UP! They look so scrumptious and yummy – now I’m craving! Will def add this to Holiday dinner this year! Thank you!
Oh yum these sound so delicious. Indeed, potatoes do make baked goods much fluffier. i do have to try your recipe this Thanksgiving! Cheers
So damn good. We cant stop eating these haha. Thanks for a great recipe.
I have to be honest when I say I have never made rolls before, biscuits yes but rolls no. So I am excited to try this recipe.
I really want to get into making bread at home! I need to try this
Yummy! Your Potato Rolls are a must have for the holidays! Thanks for sharing!
WOW! Totally in love with the texture here. Looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing
Potatoes make these rolls so fluffy and tender!
Can’t beat a delicious, fresh and homemade dinner roll. These will be perfect for my Holiday dinner table.
These potato rolls are such a great idea and have a great texture too. Perfect with leftover turkey too.