Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

You all know I love sweet potatoes, right?  These rolls, from Tammy, are another amazing way to use sweet potatoes.  Potatoes in general make rolls mighty moist.  And, sweet potatoes… well, that makes them even better. 

I cut the recipe in half because the original recipe makes 4 dozen rolls!  We enjoyed them for sandwiches, served alongside chili, and even for grilled cheese. 

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls- Adapted from Tammy’s Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C warm water
• 1 C warm milk
• 1/8 C butter
• 1 C sweet potato puree
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour
• 3 C all purpose flour (we used Eagle Mills Ultragrain All-Purpose Flour)
• 3 T yeast

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the 1/8 C butter and 1/4 C water, 1 C milk, and 1/4 C sugar together until the mixture comes to about 100 degrees.  If you wish to substitute honey for the sugar – use 1/3 C honey and add it to these liquid ingredients. 

Then, add in the 1 C sweet potato puree and check the temperature.  If you add cold potatoes, the temperature will decrease & you’ll want to reheat them to achieve a temp around 100 degrees before moving on to the next step. 

Meanwhile, combine together the 3 T yeast, 2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour, and 3 C all purpose flour.  Mix together until ingredients are combined. 

Pour the warmed sweet potato mixture into the flour. 

Knead for 5-6 minutes either by hand, or in the bowl of your mixer using the dough hook.  Dough should be smooth and elastic.  Then, shape into a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover.  Allow the dough to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. 

Then, shape the dough into dinner rolls by rolling the dough into balls about the size of a clementine.  You should have two-dozen (24) dinner rolls.

Place rolls you wish to bake immediately into a lightly greased pan.  Cover and allow them to rise again – about another 30-60 minutes, until they are doubled in size. 

*If you wish to freeze the dough, transfer the dough balls to a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.  Remove the dough and place it in a ziplock bag or freezer-safe, airtight container. 

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove rolls immediately and place them on a cooling wrack.  If desired, brush the top with additional melted butter.  Cover the rolls with a light towel until ready to serve. 

*If baking from frozen doughballs: remove the dough from the freezer 4-6 hours before baking.  Place the frozen dough balls into a lightly greased pan (the pan you wish to bake them in), and cover with a piece of lightly greased plastic wrap.  Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the dough should thaw in 2-3 hours, and then rise in about another hour.  Bake as instructed above.