Potato Rolls

My daily contribution to my year long "Around the House" photo project. 365 photos. Blogged here.



Following much the same train of thought as with the squash loaf we also made some potato rolls. In a good/bad turn of events, they don't actually require much potato, so you could easily make these with left over mashed potatoes, or think ahead and actually boil and mash a few extra. We used this recipe because how can you say no to a recipe that has taken a prize at the county fair two years running?

Makes 24 rolls

Ingredients
7 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
1 cup mashed potatoes (just potatoes, nothing added)
2 eggs

Directions
COMBINE 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in large mixing bowl
HEAT milk, shortening, and water in a medium saucepan until boiling
ADD boiling mixture to dry ingredients
BEAT until moistened
ADD mashed potatoes and eggs
BEAT until smooth
STIR in remaining flour incrementally until a stiff dough has formed
COVER
REFRIGERATE a minimum of several hours, up to overnight

GREASE baking sheet(s)
TURN dough out onto a floured surface
PUNCH down
DIVIDE in half
GREASE or FLOUR hands
SHAPE each half into 12 balls
ROLL each ball into an 8 inch rope
TIE each rope into a knot
PLACE 2" apart on prepared baking sheet
TUCK ends under
COVER and let rise until doubled

PREHEAT oven to 375F
BAKE for 25-30 minutes, or until browned

Enjoy!

My Thoughts
1. I mostly ate these cold, they made nice little sandwiches or snacks with jam. It wasn't until we were down to the last couple that I tried them warm and Oh Man, I was missing out. If you won't be eating these straight from the oven, warm them in the microwave until soft and pillowy. Then try not to eat all 24 in a sitting. Amazing.

2. These would be awesome holiday rolls, but I also have a sneaky suspicion that they freeze well (not that this batch made it that far), which would make them easy everyday dinner rolls as well.