Sweet Potato Rolls
These pillowy-soft Sweet Potato Rolls are nothing short of the perfect bread for almost any occasion. As a big batch baked in a casserole dish, pull-apart style, they're great for sharing with family and friends at Thanksgiving or any other big gathering.
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Ingredients
- 8 1/2 ounces (1 cup) milk
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed
- 11 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) cooked and mashed sweet potato*
- 1 lb 7 3/8 ounces (5 1/2 cups, spoon and level) bread flour, divided
- 4 1/4 ounces (1 cup, spoon and level) whole wheat flour
- 1 (1/4 ounce) packet instant yeast (I highly recommend Red Star Platinum!)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing (I prefer salted here)
Instructions
- Scald the milk by warming in the microwave for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, until the temperature reaches 180ºF on an instant-read thermometer**. Add the cubed butter and allow to melt and cool while and prepping the mashed potatoes [see recipe notes] and mixing the dry ingredients.
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 lb 3 1/8 ounces (4 1/2 cups, spoon and level) bread flour with the whole wheat flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Combine the mashed potatoes with the milk/butter mixture and whisk together until smooth. Make sure the temperature registers between 120º-130ºF before adding to the dry ingredients. If needed, heat briefly in the microwave or allow to cool to reach desired temperature.
- Add the potato mixture to the dry ingredients along with the egg. Use a spatula to combine everything together as best as possible, and then use your hands to finish kneading the ingredients into a single ball of dough.
- Turn dough out onto the counter and knead for about 10 minutes, until soft and elastic, incorporating up to another 4 1/4 ounces (1 cup, spoon and level) bread flour as needed to prevent the dough from getting stuck to your hands or the counter. Shape into a smooth ball, cover with plastic wrap, and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
- Grease an 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick spray. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (I like to do this by weight) and shape each portion into a ball by stretching the dough out with your palms to form a smooth top and pinching the edges together underneath. Cup the sides of the dough ball in your palms and rotate it gently to further smooth it out. Arrange balls of dough in the prepared baking dish in a 3x4 pattern. Cover with greased plastic wrap and leave to rise for about 45 minutes, until the dough is taking up most of the space in the baking dish and reaches the rim of the dish at its highest point.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake fully risen rolls in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until puffy and turning golden on top, preferably until the internal temperature reaches 180ºF***. Remove from oven and immediately brush tops with melted butter.
- Serve warm. Rolls can also be covered tightly with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature. Reheat before serving.
Notes
*To make the mashed sweet potatoes, peel two large sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4"-1/2" thick slices. Place in a large microwave-safe bowl along with 2 ounces (1/4 cup) water. Microwave for about 10 minutes, until soft and tender. Purée with an immersion blender until fairly smooth. Measure out the amount needed for the recipe, reserving remainder for another use.
**I use a Thermapen for all my basic temperature-gauging needs in the kitchen, and it's awesome! You can read more about why I love it so much here.
***To check the temperature of the baked rolls, you can either use an instant-read thermometer again after 20-25 minutes of baking, or monitor the temperature the entire time with a probe-stye thermometer like the DOT