Potato Rolls

Growing up, these were the only homemade rolls I ever knew.  My mother made them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Though they have wonderful flavor, they tended to be a dense roll.  Well, after 40 years of making them, I finally realized that they could be made light and fluffy.  I made these yesterday and they are truly the best dinner roll.  You can teach old dogs new tricks!
How could I have never thought of this before?  All I needed to do was increase the amount of yeast!  I added 1 tablespoon instead of the 2-1/4 teaspoons it called for.
 Potato Rolls

1-1/2cups warm water
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
2/3 c. shortening
1 c. mashed potatoes ( I make instant ones for this recipe because homemade is too heavy)
7-7 1/2 cups flour

Mix everything together and knead.  Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover and let it rise.  The potatoes make this dough heavy so it takes longer to rise.  Mine took about 2 hours.

 I formed mine into crescents but you can form them any way you want. Brush them with butter before you cut them.

 Brush them with butter again before you cover them.  Let them rise again for an hour.

 They should be nice and fluffy before you bake them.  Bake them at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 Have your Blog Tech brush them with butter when they come out of the oven.  Hey...might as well pass down the tradition!

Cool them on a rack.  These freeze very well.  Just reheat them before serving.

Comments

TARYTERRE said…
Had to smile over the step in the recipe where a Blog Tech must brush them with butter. GREAT tradition. Those rolls sound wonderful. Love them fluffy.
Anonymous said…
you are training him well, lol. These are a tradition with us as well, my Mum whipped her potatoes for these rolls, I just save some I whipped for the previous nights meal, it makes them lighter and no lumpy bits, lol. I never thought of using instant, that is a great idea! Mt recipe has 4 tsps of yeast, its just a bit different than yours but they are the best aren`t they, yum! Oh and I have never made them in your fancy crescent shape but I will try this year, yours look lovely!
Anonymous said…
Rolls like these aren't that common here, why I don't know. The ones we usually have is made from puff pastry and reminds a lot of Danish pastry. They are so easy to bake so I think they deserv to be more popular.

Have a great day!
Christer.
Mary Ann said…
They look wonderful! I'm pinning this one!
Nellie said…
We're a bit short on blog techs around here, so I guess I'll have to do the brushing.:-)
Joy said…
Much better than those canned dinner rolls!
Guillaume said…
They look like croissants!
Kev Alviti said…
These look good. I think me and the eldest girl will have to try making these this week.
Barb said…
Your family is going to have a real feast! I make my mom's pumpkin pie. It has a bottom layer of pecans and brown sugar. My DH looks forward to it every year. I like having a family recipe as part of the Thanksgiving dinner tradition.
but..but...I don't have a "blog tech".. *sniff*