Potato Dinner Rolls
Soft and flaky rolls, perfect for your dinner table.

Yield: about 40 rolls
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted butter or margarine
- ½ cup water or reserved potato water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup mashed potatoes
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 4½ tsp (2 packages) RED STAR Active Dry Yeast
- 6½ cups bread flour
Instructions
- Over medium heat melt margarine or butter. Add potato water and milk, heat to 110°-115°F and set aside.
- Mash potatoes to make 1 cup. Place the mashed potatoes and potato water mixture in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt and eggs. Beat with a wire whisk until smooth. Stir in Yeast over all and beat again.
- Add 2 cups of bread flour and beat until smooth. Mix in 3½ more cups of bread flour with a wooden spoon. Gradually add the last cup of bread flour, working it with your hands by pressing flour into dough and turning dough over until it is firm. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe.
- Punch dough down and place on a floured surface. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Press dough out with fingers to a square 1-inch thick. Cut in 1½ -inch wide strips lengthwise and equal width crosswise. If the knife gets sticky while cutting, just dust it with flour.
- Shape each piece into a ball by pinching all four sides underneath to seal. Place buns almost touching in greased cake pans. Let rise covered until indentation remains after touching.
- Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
- **You can substitute Instant (fast-rising) yeast in place of Active Dry Yeast. When using Instant Yeast, expect your dough to rise faster. Always let your dough rise until ripe. Traditional methods: use equal amounts; Bread Machine: use ½ tsp Instant Yeast OR ¾ tsp Active Dry Yeast per cup of flour in your recipe. Visit our Lessons in Yeast & Baking for more information.
- Red Star recipe. Photo by Completely Delicious.
Notes
For a soft crust brush tops with margarine or butter.
Can I use regular white flour?
Hi Alice,
While bread flour is the preferred flour for yeast-raised bread, you can substitute all-purpose flour. Just keep an eye on your dough – you don’t want it to over-rise, as the AP flour is a weaker flour. More info on flour can be found here: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/common-baking-ingredients/flour/.
Happy baking!
Carol
I’ve been looking for potatoes dinner rolls recipe for quite some time and I finally found it.
Thank you so much!
Can you substitute buttermilk for the milk?
Hi Kim,
Yes, that should be fine to sub in buttermilk. We also have a few rolls recipes that specifically call for buttermilk. Here’s a link to one of them (one of our most popular recipes!) >> https://redstaryeast.com/buttermilk-pan-rolls/.
Happy baking!
Carol
Ohhh, count me in!
What quantity of flower for one packedge of redstaryeast?
Hi Rodica,
One package (1/4 oz, 7 grams) of dry yeast will rise up to 4 cups of flour. More information can be found on our handy conversion chart:https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/yeast-conversion-table/
Happy baking!
Carol
May i ask what is potato water?
Hi Edith – Potato water is just the water used when boiling the potatoes. It adds to the flavor and texture of the bread versus tap water. Happy baking!