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LaRene Reed's Idaho Potato Rolls
from the
Farmhouse Cookbook, by Susan
Herrmann Loomis (Workman Publishing Company;
November 1991)
Makes about 2 dozen
The recipe for these rolls is an old one from the Reed family
(Idaho potato growers). Potato rolls are tender, moist, and slightly sweet. They
go well with just about any meal and are quick to make. They make a wonderful
breakfast with fresh butter and honey.
You may be tempted to add extra flour because the dough is so
soft and moist, but don't. Just add enough so that you can handle the dough
without having it stick to your hands and the work surface, then dust it with
plenty of flour to roll it out.
 | 1 large Russet potato, boiled and well mashed (1 cup)
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| 1 cup warm water |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| 2 packages active dry yeast |
| 4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour |
| 3 large eggs |
| 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
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| 1 teaspoon salt |
- Lightly oil two 7x11x1 1/2-inch baking pans.
- Place the mashed potato, water, sugar, and yeast in a large
bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Add 1 cup of the flour, and whisk until the
mixture is quite smooth, about 2 minutes. (There may be some lumps from the
potato, which is fine.) Add another 1/2 cup flour, and mix until smooth. Cover
with a kitchen towel, set in a warm spot (68 to 70 degrees F), and let rise
until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Add the eggs to this mixture, one at a time, mixing
vigorously after each addition. Add the butter and salt, and mix well. Then
gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour, mixing quite vigorously. When the dough
becomes too awkward to mix in the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured
surface, and knead it until it is smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Add flour (no more
than an additional cup) as you knead to keep the dough from sticking to the
work surface and your hands. It will still be very soft-softer than bread
dough.
- Heavily flour the dough and the work surface, and roll the
dough out until it is 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares and
place them in the prepared pans, leaving about inch of space between them.
Cover loosely with a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise in a warm spot
(68 to 70 degrees) until they have nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the rolls in the center of the oven until they are
golden and puffed, about 12 minutes. Turn them out of the pans onto a wire
cooling rack, let cool for 5 minutes, and then serve.
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