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Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Soft, fluffy, flaky, and delightfully tall, these sweet potato dinner rolls make the perfect addition to any holiday spread or cold weather meal.
Yield 20 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 medium (250-290g) sweet potato, peeled and chopped (to yield 1 cup (230g) mashed)
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
  • 1 (0.25oz) package (7g) or 2 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast
  • 1/3 cup (113g) honey, divided
  • 2 large (100g) eggs, at room temperature
  • 5 tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 5 1/2 cups (715g) bread flour, plus more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) melted butter and flaky sea salt, for finishing (optional)

Instructions

  • Prepare the sweet potato: Place the chopped sweet potato in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-high and boil until the sweet potato is very soft and tender, about 10–12 minutes. Drain off the water, then mash the sweet potato as well as you can—a few small lumps are okay. Measure 1 cup (230g) of mashed sweet potato to use in the dough and set aside to slightly cool. (Do not use more than 1 cup in your dough. Discard or eat any leftover sweet potatoes.)
  • Proof the yeast: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 2 tablespoons of honey together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula.
  • Make the dough: Add the remaining honey, eggs, butter, mashed sweet potato, salt, and 1 cup (125g) flour to the yeast mixture. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
  • Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer fitted with a dough hook and beat on low speed for an additional 5 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. After kneading, the dough should feel soft and smooth. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise.
  • 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1–2 hours or until double in size.
  • Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
  • Shape the rolls: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces, about 65–75g each (doesn’t need to be exact!). Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
  • 2nd Rise: Cover shaped rolls and allow to rise until puffy, about 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
  • Bake the rolls: Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top (internal temperature if taken with an instant-read thermometer should be 190°F), rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and allow rolls to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
  • Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

  1. Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the baked dinner rolls. Allow them to cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired. If reheating the whole pan, lightly cover and reheat in a 300°F (150°C) oven for about 10 minutes or until warm. If you are planning to freeze the baked rolls, omit the melted butter and flaky sea salt finishing step after baking, and instead do that after thawing and reheating.
  2. Overnight Instructions: Prepare the recipe through step 7. Cover the shaped rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to about 15 hours. At least 3 hours before you need them the next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking. Alternatively, you can let the dough have its 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to about 15 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours. Continue with step 6.
  3. No Stand Mixer? If you do not own a stand mixer, you can use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough together with a sturdy silicone spatula or wooden spoon. It will take a bit of arm muscle. Do not use a hand mixer because the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters.
  4. Can I Use Regular Potato? Yes. No other changes necessary.
  5. Can I Use Canned Sweet Potato? I do not recommend it; canned mashed sweet potato is typically thinner in consistency than freshly mashed and will throw off the moisture content in the dough.
  6. Milk: Whole milk is ideal for the best, richest flavor and texture. Keeping that in mind, feel free to substitute with a lower-fat or nondairy milk.
  7. Yeast: I always use instant yeast, but if you use active dry yeast, there are no changes to the recipe. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. 
  8. Flour: If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces chewier dinner rolls. The rolls are still soft and fluffy no matter which you use. Either flour is fine and there are no other changes to the recipe if you use one or the other.
 
Recipe created by Sally's Baking Addiction.