Potato Rolls

By lorik

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon instant mashed potatoes
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest, optional
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• Milk, cream, or egg yolk, to glaze

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from thekitchn.com

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk the potato flakes into the boiling water. (Note: You can substitute 1 cup of water that you used to boil potatoes in. If using potato water omit the potato flakes.)

Place the sugar, salt, butter, and citrus zest in a large bowl and pour the boiling potato water over it. Whisk to combine until the butter melts. Let stand for 5 minutes to cool.

In a separate small bowl sprinkle the yeast over 2 tablespoons warm water and set aside until it foams and thickens, about 5 minutes.
Check the temperature of the butter and sugar mixture. It should feel pleasantly warm and not boiling hot. If so, whisk in the eggs, and then the yeast mixture.

Stir in 2 cups of flour. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until combined, then stir in 2 more cups of flour, or just enough to make a shaggy, wet dough. Beat well and do not knead; it will be very sticky.
Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
To bake the rolls, lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan with olive oil or butter.

Coat hands lightly with flour. Portion the dough into 24 small balls and place closely together in the prepared pan. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the rolls have significantly increased in size.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the tops lightly with milk, cream, or egg yolk. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are browned on top and a thermometer inserted in the center roll reads 190°F to 200°F.
Serve warm.

Recipe Notes:
For Quicker Rolls (No Refrigerator Time): You can also shape these directly after mixing up the dough. This method produces slightly smaller, more dense rolls, but they are still very good. Expect to use a little extra flour on your hands; the unchilled dough will be sticky. Place the rolls in the prepared pan and cover. Let rise for an hour or a little more, until the rolls are doubled in size. Proceed with baking.

Multiplying the Recipe: This recipe multiplies very well. In fact, I usually triple it for big holiday meals!

Per serving, based on 24 servings. (% daily value)
Calories 138 Fat 4.5g (6.9%) Saturated 2.6 g (13%) Trans 0.2 g Carbs
21.4 g (7.1%) Fiber 0.7 g (2.8%) Sugars 4.2 g Protein 3 g (6%) Cholesterol 25.7 mg (8.6%) Sodium 107.7 mg (4.5%)