Wonderfully light and flavourful old-fashioned potato rolls, made from a vintage recipe that uses mashed potatoes and potato cooking water, for perfectly moist rolls. Makes a large batch, so perfect for the holidays!
I made these rolls for my own (Canadian) Thanksgiving back in October and I really enjoyed them, so I thought I’d share for the upcoming US Thanksgiving and the holiday season. These Rustic Potato Rolls aren’t the prettiest, perfectly-shaped rolls, but they have so much to recommend them, I think you’ll be willing to over-look that :)
These rolls have freshly mashed potatoes and potato cooking water as their base. They bake up in to wonderfully light rolls, with a wonderful flavour and texture. They are beautifully moist inside, with a wonderfully, lightly crisp and crackly outside!
You’ll want too note that this recipe makes a huge batch of rolls – 24 to 32, so it is perfect for a big crowd (or to have some left-over to use for all those turkey sandwiches). The picture below shows just one of the two trays of rolls that this recipe makes! They freeze beautifully, so you can make them well ahead. They also stay perfectly moist stored at room temperature for quite a while, so don’t hesitate to make them a day ahead. Just wrap well and store on the counter-top.
I love rustic food, so I chop up my dough into random, irregular pieces. If you’d like something a little more classic, you can roll the dough in to a rectangle the size of your baking sheet and cut in to even, smaller square rolls and place on to your baking sheet.
Cook’s Notes for Rustic Potato Rolls
This dough is very moist. Don’t hesitate to dust with flour along the way, as needed.
This recipe makes a lot of rolls, so it also makes a lot of dough. I have a larger stand mixer, but if you have a smaller one, you may wish to remove the dough and knead by hand if it seems to be straining the limits of your mixer at all.
As noted before, I love my 9×13 baking sheets (Affiliate Link), as they fit side-by-side on one oven rack in my oven. If you don’t have any of these smaller sheets, you can use two larger baking sheets and bake on two racks, rotating their position half way through baking. You can also use two 9×13 glass baking dishes, if you like.
As noted, these are rustic rolls. I like to cut them in an irregular way, but you can also cut them in to more regular square shapes. As this dough is very moist though, they will never be perfectly shaped rolls.
To freeze, I break the large piece block of rolls roughly in half and freeze each half piece in it’s own freezer bag. It’s best not to break in to individual rolls until ready to serve. To thaw, simply place bag on counter (still sealed) and allow to thaw.
Rustic Old Fashioned Potato Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into big chunks
- 1 1/2 cups potato cooking water (see instructions below)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry or instant yeast
- 6 - 7 cups all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil, for greasing pan for
Instructions
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Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the potato water in to a measuring cup and set aside. Drain /discard remaining potato cooking liquid. While potatoes are cooking, bring milk to a simmer in a small pan, then remove from heat.
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Mash or rice the hot potatoes and place in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (You should have about 3 cups of mashed potatoes). Add the sugar, salt, and butter and blend well. Add the reserved potato water and the milk and beat well. Allow mixture to stand until it cools to lukewarm.
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Add the yeast to 1/4 cup warm water, stir, and set aside for five minutes until bubbly. Gradually add four cups of flour to the potato mixture and mix well. If using a stand mixer, switch to the kneading hook. Add the dissolved yeast and blend well. Add the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough is stiff enough to knead. You may not need to use all of the flour.
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Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes), adding additional flour if necessary. Brush a large bowl with a thin layer of oil and place the dough in the bowl. Turn dough to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 60 - 90, or until doubled in size.
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Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly grease two 9x13-inch rimmed baking sheets and lightly dust with a bit of flour. *If you don't have two baking sheets that will sit side-by-side on one oven rack, position oven racks in top and bottom third of oven and bake on two racks, switching racks half way through baking time. You can also use two 9x13 glass baking dishes, if that's all you have.
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Turn the dough out onto a floured board, gently punch it down. Divide dough in to two equal pieces. Take one of the dough pieces and cut in half again, to make 2 pieces. Cut each of those 2 pieces in half again, to make 4 pieces. Then cut each of those pieces in to 3 or 4 irregular pieces, to make 12-16 pieces. Arrange those pieces in a cobblestone pattern, leaving a bit of space between each and filling the entire pan as much as possible. Repeat with the other dough half and fill the second baking sheet in the same way. Lightly dust the top of the rolls with flour, cover with a clean tea towel and then let rise until doubled in size, approximately 30 minutes.
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Bake with the baking sheets side-by-side on one (centrrack in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. *At the 10 minute mark of baking, you may want to switch the pans to the other side and front to back, to ensure even browning. Serve warm or at room temperature. These rolls freeze well. Thaw in wrapping at room temperature.
These were phenomenally fluffy and went perfectly with the big pot of chili we made for friends over the holidays! Even our friends who “don’t eat carbs” had 2 or 3! Served warm with butter, they are simply to die for! Thanks, Jennifer, for another wonderful recipe!
So glad to hear, Andrea and perfect with chili! And always fun to convert carb-avoiders once in a while ;)
Wow, they look so fluffy and delicious Jennifer! And I just made some yummy chimichurri compound butter for our big feast that they would be perfect with!
Thanks Mary Ann and that butter would be perfect! Happy Thanksgiving :)
These rolls almost remind me of ciabatta, they look so soft and fluffy! I know I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one :).
They are definitely ciabatta-like in their artisan style crust, for sure. Like a lighter version of that.
I’ve never tried making potato rolls but I want to try these! They look so light and absolutely perfect. You had me at leftovers for turkey sandwiches – a little dab of mayo, turkey and some black pepper – I would be in heaven! Thank you so much Jennifer!
Thanks Tricia and yes, they make the best left-over turkey sandwiches :)
Can you give me an idea of just what 2 large russet potatoes would weigh? Large is a bit vague since I’ve seen some gigantic potatoes. Thanks.
Hi Susan and yes, I understand :) In the instructions, I’ve indicated that you’ll want about 3 cups of riced potatoes.
Are they packed after ricing?
I didn’t pack. I just spooned in to my 4-cup measure until it reached 3 cups.
Hi
It looks very soft and moisture rolls as I can see your photos ! And also thank you for your precisely direction all the time. It is very helpful.
I have question that do you think I can half of size to make that ? (I mean exactly half of amount ingredients )
I know I can freeze them if I want to make whole butch as this recipe. But I want to make small version to make .
Thank you .
Hi Yuri and yes, you can make a half batch, BUT when it comes to the yeast, you probably don’t want to use half the amount. Maybe use 1 1/2 tsp. yeast for a half batch.
Jennifer
Thank you for your advice !
Yes, I will do that about yeast amount. It make sense to me ,too !
Thank you again ! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family !
Thanks Yuri :)
I can’t look at these photos without craving this, Jennifer, Potato rolls are my WEAKNESS ~ sharing and pinning :)
Thanks Sue. I wish I could send you some. I have lots ! :)
Oh my gawsh, potato rolls are my favorite type of roll EVER, Jennifer!! So I am drooling all over my keyboard with these!! Seriously, I want these for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. Just give me all the old-fashioned potato rolls on repeat!!! Pinned! Cheers!
Thanks so much, Cheyanne :)
Delish! They look so… soft and fluffy. I love potato in bread dough, it seems to do something magical for the flavor.
Thanks Chris and yes, the flavour and texture is so wonderful!