Sweet potato dinner rolls

Photo: Sugar Spun Run

Soft, slightly sweet dinner rolls made with mashed sweet potato in the dough and brushed with garlic rosemary butter after baking.

From Sam Merritt at Sugar Spun Run · @sugarspun_sam

The mashed sweet potato keeps these rolls soft, and the garlic rosemary butter brushed on at the end gives them a savory finish.

You need

• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, plus a pinch for activating yeast
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes, slightly warm or room temperature
• 4 cups bread flour, plus additional as needed, divided
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature preferred
• 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softened
• 2 Tablespoons salted butter (for greasing the pan)
• 3 Tablespoons salted butter
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

How to make it

1. Warm the water and milk to 115°F (45°C), pour into your mixer bowl, and stir in the yeast with a pinch of granulated sugar. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.
2. Add the rest of the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, mashed sweet potato, half the flour (2 cups/250g), egg, egg yolk, and salt. Stir until combined; the dough will be sticky.
3. On low speed, add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time, letting each piece work in before adding the next.
4. Add the remaining flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the bowl and feels soft and slightly tacky, not wet.
5. Knead with the dough hook 5 to 8 minutes, or by hand 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
6. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise somewhere warm until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
7. Butter a 9x13 inch (23x33cm) dish. Punch down the dough, divide into 24 pieces, and shape each into a smooth ball by tucking the edges under. Arrange in the dish so the rolls just touch.
8. Cover and let rise again until puffed by about half, 30 to 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
9. Bake 22 to 24 minutes, until golden on top and the centers reach 190°F (88°C). Meanwhile melt the 3 tablespoons salted butter with the garlic and rosemary over low heat, letting it infuse at least 20 minutes.
10. Brush the warm rolls generously with the garlic rosemary butter and serve warm.

Written in our own words from Sam Merritt's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Sweet potato dinner rolls, Sugar Spun Run.

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