Purple Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls
Make room on your dinner table for these Purple Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls. They are light and fluffy with a hint of warm holiday spices. Bonus, the flesh of this sweet potato roll is purple, you can’t beat that!
Servings: 18 rolls
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1/4 cup of warm water ~100°F
- 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
- 1 cup purple sweet potato - cooked 1 large potato or 2 medium
- 1 cup of whole milk - scalded
- 4 ounces of unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour - divided
- 1/4 cup of light brown sugar - packed
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
For egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon of water
Instructions
- Mix warm water with the granulated sugar in a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast in the bowl and let it bloom for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Simmer the milk and butter in a small sauce pan until the butter is completely melted. Let cool to around 100°F.
- Wash the sweet potato and pierce with a pairing knife a few times. Wrap it in plastic and microwave for 5-8 minutes until tender. Check by poking it with a knife or fork, if it goes through easily, your potato is done. Let the potato cool on the counter until you can handle it without burning your hand.
- Add 3 cups of flour, brown sugar, spices and salt in a medium bowl, mix well with a whisk and set aside. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of flour for later.
- Cut open the potato and scoop out the flesh, smash it in a small bowl with a potato smasher. Or puree it in a food processor.
- In the bowl of your stand-mixer, add 1 cup of mashed sweet potato and the warm milk/butter mixture, mix with a whisk to combine. Check the temperature of the liquid mixture to make sure it is not more than 110°F to ensure a safe temperature for the yeast.
- Now add the flour mixture set aside earlier along with the activated yeast, and vanilla to the liquid mixture in the stand-mixer bowl. Knead with the dough hook on medium speed for 1-2 minutes just until the dough starts to come away from the side of the bowl. At this stage, if the dough seems too wet to handle, add a little bit of the reserved flour to it, a tablespoon at a time, just enough so it is not a sticky mess.
- Scrape the dough out on a lightly floured counter, shape into a ball, put it back into the bowl and allow to rise at room temperature overnight or until double in size, this may take a 2 - 4 hours or longer depending on the ambient temperature.
- The next day, or when the dough has risen enough, turn it out on a lightly floured counter again. If the dough stick the the side of the bowl, just use a scraper to get it all out. Divide dough into 2 ounce portions and shape them into round balls. This batch will make about 18.
- Place the dough balls on parchment line baking sheets about 2 inches apart and let them rise for about 2 hours or until at least double in size. You may need 2 or more baking sheets.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Prepare egg wash by beating one egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the risen dough with egg wash very lightly, and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- Serve rolls warm with butter.
Notes
When microwaving the sweet potato, do it in increments of minutes so you don’t dry out the potato. Check by poking it with a fork or tip of a paring knife to see when it is just done. And alternate method is to bake the sweet potato in the oven.
Nutrition
Serving: 70g | Calories: 172kcal
