Mom’s Potato Rolls
I grew up watching my mom make these rolls every Sunday. There is no better smell than the scent of freshly baked bread, and these rolls are no exception. They’re perfectly soft and fluffy and I’m sure they will quickly become your favorite dinner roll recipe!
Makes about 3 dozen rolls
Ingredients:
3 cups warm milk (plant milk works great)
¾ cup honey or sugar
1 cup instant potato flakes (I love these ones from Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tbsp salt
½ cup salted butter
2 tbsp active dry yeast
4 eggs, whipped gently
7-8 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the warm milk, honey or sugar, instant potato flakes, salt, butter, and active dry yeast. Mix then let sit for about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs then the flour. Mix until the flour begins to combine then switch to the dough hook. Mix the dough until the flour is fully combined and a dough ball starts to form. The dough will look sticky, but shouldn’t stick to your fingers. If the dough is sticking to your fingers, add ¼ cup of flour at a time until it no longer sticks.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, flour a clean surface and turn the dough out of the bowl.
To make crescent rolls: Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and lightly flour the tops. Roll each ball into a large circle- you want the dough to be about ½ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the circle like a pie and divide into 8 equal triangles. Roll each triangle up, starting from the widest edge, until it forms a croissant shape. Place each crescent roll on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 1.5 inches between each one.
To make round rolls: My preferred way to do this is to measure 75 gram dough pieces on a kitchen scale and form each of those into nice round balls. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can divide the dough into four equal pieces then divide each of those pieces into 10 equal pieces. To form a perfect circle, grab the piece of dough, fold in all the sides into the center, place it on the counter seam side down. Form your hand like you’re holding a cup and gently pull the dough ball toward you in a circular motion. Place each roll on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 1.5 inches between each one.
After all the rolls have been shaped and placed on the lined baking sheets, cover them and let them rise until nice and puffy, about 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. The rolls will stay fresh for about 3 days. Store any extras in the freezer for up to 6 months.