Hidden Veggies: Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls That Impress

A family-friendly recipe for soft and savory rolls with a hidden veggie

We figure plenty of people like us might have overbought their sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and still have a couple of them rolling about the pantry after the holiday. Fresh sweet potatoes are pretty hardy and will last a while, but it's best to get them used up to avoid waste. We decided to mash some more of them, and instead of making something common, hide them in a dinner roll.

Hidden veggies are, in our opinion, the best when you have little ones. Our little one is not so little any longer - he has instead entered the "I subsist entirely on processed garbage and carbs" phase - and this still worked quite nicely for him. Even after he realized there was a vegetable (gasp!) in his bread (the affront!), he still ate more of them than anyone else at the table.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes

2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons water

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup warm milk

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

small amount of butter or olive oil, for greasing the bowl and pan

Tools:

10 inch cast iron skillet or large Dutch oven

measuring cups and spoons

knife or bench scraper (for leveling flour and separating dough)

mixing bowl(s)

instant-read thermometer (useful but not strictly necessary)

stand mixer with dough hook (useful but not strictly necessary)

While we started with fresh sweet potatoes, and peeled, boiled, drained and mashed them, you don't have to. You're welcome to begin with baked sweet potatoes, frozen or even canned if you can find the unsweetened kind.

The important part is to have half a cup, post-mashing, with minimal to no other ingredients, and to allow that half cup to cool to room temperature.

Heat your water to somewhere over 100 degrees but less than 115. This is where a thermometer comes in handy, but if you don't have one, here's a little trick to guess the water temperature. Run the water at the kitchen tap and hold a finger under it until you can feel the water getting good and hot. Just before it gets too hot to keep your finger in the water, fill the cup and turn off the water. (Career cooks and servers, please disregard this advice and find a thermometer, as your heat tolerance is generally higher than average.) From this full cup of water, measure out the three tablespoons you need. Add the dry yeast to it, stir, and sprinkle in a pinch of sugar.

Assuming your sweet potato mash has had a chance to cool, add it to the mixing bowl (or the mixer, if you're using one like we did). Measure in the sugar, salt, butter and warm milk. Stir until combined.

Add in the yeast/water/sugar mixture and give a quick mix before measuring in one and a half level cups of flour. Make sure not to pack the flour into the measuring cups, and to use the flat side of a knife or the edge of a bench scraper to take any excess off the top.

Mix with a dough hook or knead by hand until dough starts to form. It'll be sticky at this stage. If you're using a stand mixer, this is the last stage you'll want it to work on. Even the vaunted KitchenAid will struggle with dense doughs, and this one is about to get dense.

Add another half cup of flour to the sticky dough ball in the mixing bowl. Knead it in by hand. If the dough is still feeling sticky - not tacky, but well and truly sticky - add up to another three quarters of a cup of flour. Do so slowly and stay very hands on, because it probably doesn't take as much as you think to go from sticky dough to dough that's too dry to take on any more flour.

At the point the dough is smooth and just a bit tacky, turn it out onto a floured surface and work it by hand for 5 minutes. Grease the inside of a clean mixing bowl (either clean the one you were just working in, or grab a clean one) and plop the dough ball in. Cover it - with a pot lid, a cutting board, plastic wrap, foil, a clean towel, whatever you have - and allow it to sit somewhere warm to rise for at least an hour.

After it's doubled in size, punch it down, roll it over in the greased bowl, and turn it out onto a flat surface. Using a knife or bench scraper (if you use something sharp, do so on a mat or a board, and not on your countertops!) divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll them into balls.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, grease the inside of the skillet or Dutch oven, and move the dough balls to the skillet for a second rise. Let them sit and rise for at least 20 minutes, then bake for 25 minutes. Brush the tops with butter for extra appeal.

Website 

Call: (214) 599-0055

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Troubleshooting the Troublemaker: Your Oven

Are you tired of your culinary creations consistently turning out over or undercooked from your oven? Don't worry, you're not alone! Dealing with such kitchen mishaps can be frustrating, but fear not, as there are solutions at hand. In this article, we'll explore common issues leading to over or undercooked food and provide practical tips to help you achieve perfectly cooked meals every time. So, let's dive in and uncover the secrets to mastering your oven!

Troubleshooting Oven Overheating:

If you consistently have trouble with your oven over- or undercooking food, you should start by ruling out various issues.

Rule out simple causes like improper bakeware or rack positioning. Some recipes need more space, like cooking a ham or turkey. If you keep other foods that need shorter cooking time that close to the bottom of your oven though, they'll end up being overcooked. Most recipes assume that you are using the middle rack in your oven unless otherwise stated. 

Use a digital thermometer to see if the temperatures that your setting your oven to are the actual temperatures inside the cavity. If not you might have a broken thermostat or a faulty temperature sensor. While looking around you should also see if your cooling fan is working properly.

Look over the inside of your oven and  inspect the heating elements.  Look to see if there is any damage or grease buildup. Both of these can cause uneven temperatures throughout your oven. 

Make sure that the vents on the outside of your oven aren't obstructed. If your oven can't breathe properly, then it won't be able to cool itself properly.

Check your oven's manual, to see if it's possible to recalibrate the temperature setting. If you don't have access to the manual any longer you could also call for a technician to help you out. 

Moving beyond oven overheating concerns, let's delve into a specific issue that often plagues home cooks: burnt bottoms and undercooked centers. Learn how to tackle this problem head-on with practical solutions to ensure your dishes come out perfectly cooked every time. 

Problem: Food is burnt on the bottom

How many times have you pulled a pizza or a sheet of cookies out of the oven to find out that they're burned on the bottom and still uncooked in the center? It's a common annoyance that many people face in the kitchen without ever knowing why. Typically, ovens have their heating elements located at the bottom, resulting in intense heat on the bottom of a pan or dish and the rest of the heat circulating more evenly around the rest of your food. 

To remedy this:

Start by adjusting the bake time or temperature, considering your food's top and middle parts.

Try using glass or silicon cookware instead of metal pans to avoid excessive browning.

Experiment with rack positioning to create more distance between the heating element and your cookware.

Consider using parchment paper to prevent direct contact between the food and the pan. (Important note here: Parchment paper is not wax paper. Wax paper will melt and ruin your food even more. Parchment paper might singe or even catch on fire if it comes in direct contact with your heating elements, but that is considerably better than having your food be completely inedible thanks to a layer of wax becoming part of it. )

As we continue our journey towards oven mastery, let's shift our focus to the fine-tuning of cooking parameters. Beyond troubleshooting, achieving consistently delicious results hinges on mastering the delicate balance between temperature and timing. Join us as we uncover the secrets to culinary perfection in the heart of your kitchen.

 Problem: Food is undercooked or overcooked

Finding the right balance between bake time and temperature is crucial for perfectly cooked dishes. Overcooked and you're dealing with dry tasteless food. Potentially even burned if you let it cook for too long. Undercooked and you're dealing with it not tasting good at the very least, and potentially it making you sick if you're not that lucky.

Here's what you can do:

Increase or decrease heat based on your food's doneness. If you get to the end of your cook time, and find out that your food is undercooked you can reduce the temperature and toss your food back in for a little bit longer. If you find out your food is overdone, unfortunately we can't turn back time. What you can do though is note that down in the recipe and make changes the next time that you choose to make this particular dish.

If your oven has trouble with consistent heat distribution, consider utilizing convection mode. This will help with the air circulating more evenly around your oven and cooking things better. 

Calibrate your oven's temperature settings for precise cooking results.

Keep an eye out for temperature fluctuations during baking, which may affect your food's outcome.

In conclusion, mastering your oven is a journey that requires patience, precision, and a willingness to troubleshoot common challenges. By implementing the tips and techniques outlined in this article, you can overcome issues of overheating, uneven cooking, and burnt bottoms to achieve culinary excellence. However, if you find yourself facing persistent oven woes, don't hesitate to contact Appliance Rescue Service for expert assistance. Remember, with the right guidance and a dash of perseverance, perfectly cooked meals are well within reach.

Join the conversation on our Facebook page and share your own tips and tricks for oven mastery!

Website

Call: (214) 599-0055

Additional Reading

Why Fall Is the Best Time For a Maintenance Check 

Oven Deep Dive