Sweet Potato Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

This recipe makes a perfectly delicious little roll to use for a day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwich.  I thought the recipe seemed fitting for the season because it uses sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

1 cup mashed sweet potato or yam, slightly warm or at room temperature

2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup sugar

2 packets active dry yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

6-7 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together mashed sweet potato, buttermilk, egg, butter, sugar and yeast.  Let the mixture sit for a few minutes while you measure out about 7 cups of flour.

Using the paddle attachment for you stand mixer, stir in one cup of flour along with the salt.  Gradually add more flour, about a cup at a time, until a soft dough begins to form.  If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 6-7 minutes, adding a little more flour as needed to make a moderately soft dough that mostly clears the sides of the bowl.  If mixing and kneading by hand, dump the dough out onto a floured surface when it gets too hard to mix with a spoon.  Using well-floured hands, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to work surface and hands.

When you finish kneading, the dough should be moderately soft and tacky, but not sticky.  Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball of dough.  Spray the inside of a bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place dough inside bowl.  Spray the top the dough to prevent it from drying out.  Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap.  Let dough rise until it has doubled in bulk.

When dough has doubled, push it down with your fists to deflate it and dump it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cut the dough in half with a knife or bench scraper then cut each half into 8 equal pieces (or more if you want smaller rolls).  Cover pieces with a towel and let rest for a few minutes before shaping.  While dough is resting, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and move two oven racks towards the center of the oven.  Also, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape rolls by rolling against the work surface or between your hands to form balls.  Divide the rolls between the two baking sheets, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap.  Let rolls rise for about 20-30 minutes then remove towel and place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are puffed and lightly brown.  Rotate sheets halfway through baking time (move bottom to top and vice versa).

Let rolls cool slightly and serve immediately.  Or, if making ahead, let rolls cool completely on wire racks then place in Ziploc bags.  To reheat, wrap rolls in foil and place in 375 degree oven for a few minutes until heated through.

Recipe from Pinch My Salt