Potato Rolls

I've wanted to try a recipe for potato rolls for a while. I never really had a reason to make them until today, when I decided to make fish sandwiches.

I wanted a more substantial roll for the fish, so I though the potato roll was the way to go.

I'll preface this recipe with the fact that these rolls are the heaviest - the physically heaviest rolls - I've ever made. They are dense, sweet and delicious.

I'm making buns for sandwiches in this application, but the dough would make great dinner rolls.

Potato Rolls

(from here)

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/2 cup lard or shortening

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pack of yeast

1 cup warm water

5-7 cups flour (sorry for the variation here)

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Begin by dissolving the yeast in the warm water.

Add the cup of sugar, 1/2 cup lard or shortening, the 3 beaten eggs, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt to the mixing bowl.

Add the yeast mixture and beat to combine for about 30 seconds.

Toss in the mashed potatoes (make sure these are SMOOTH) and beat to combine. 

Add 2 cups of flour and switch to the dough hook.

Mix on medium/low speed and gradually add 3 more cups of flour. 

Remove from the work bowl when the dough pulls away from the side and climbs the hook.


Ok, so my dough was SUPER sticky. I had to add a lot of flour while I kneaded the dough, hence the ambiguity in the amounts.

Bottom line, you want the dough smooth and moist, but not sticky. Mine was kind of sticky even when I stopped kneading.

You want to knead by hand for a minimum of 7 minutes.

Pop into a bowl to rise for about an hour.

Mine didn't rise dramatically, but I punched it down and rolled it out anyway.

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So, I apologize for the lack of photos on this part, but I didn't know if they were going to turn out, so I stopped taking pics.

But this is what I did:

Once the dough has risen the first time, turn it out and punch it down. 

Roll the dough out until it's about 3/4"-1"high.

Cut out bun shapes with a glass or biscuit cutter. If making rolls, make them thinner and smaller.

Place on a greased sheet pan and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and brush the tops with milk.

Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the interior temp is 200F.

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Like I said earlier, these rolls were dense. Really dense. That doesn't take away from the fact that they taste awesome though. I found them sweet and yeasty. The interior was soft and delicious.

Enjoy!