Light & Fluffy Potato Rolls with Potato Flakes

Prepare to be amazed by the fluffy texture of potato yeast rolls made with instant potato flakes. With a hint of buttery richness and the convenience of using potato flakes, these rolls are not only delicious but also easy to make, making them the perfect addition to any meal.

 

Try Dinner Rolls with Potato Flakes

These homemade potato rolls are soft and fluffy, and the perfect bread to accompany just about any meal. The potato flakes add a sturdiness to the yeast dough which makes them a great option for homemade hamburger buns along with being a great all around dinner roll.

The secret ingredient in these rolls is instant potato flakes, it gives the rolls more structure so that you can use them for hamburger sliders where a soft dinner roll can be too soft to hold a substantial filling. It’s also so much more convenient than mashed potato rolls.

Mashed potatoes go fast in our house and I don’t always have leftovers to use for rolls. However a box of potato flakes, if kept in a sealed ziplock will stay fresh for 1-2 years.

These not only make great potato burger buns for your smash burgers, but they are a no-fail yeast roll that are great with any meal. You can prepare the dough the night before and bake them when you’re ready to eat or in advance and keep them warm in a slow cooker until dinner time.

With the help of a stand mixer and a few basic ingredients, you can have perfect homemade rolls in about 90 minutes. Compared to other bread recipes, 90 minutes is not bad – and with a hack for the rising time, you can make the rest of your meal while you let the dough rise. 

Serve them with your favorite chicken casserole, put them on the table for Thanksgiving dinner, or use them as the bun for a perfectly juicy bbq slider. As the weather cools, serve them up with some homemade chicken soup for the perfect cold-weather dinner. Potato rolls are a super versatile side dish to complement almost any meal. 

Why do you use warm water to make yeast rolls? 

Using warm water helps the yeast wake up and start working! Yeasted bread works like this: yeast is a living organism that thrives on sugars (like white sugar and flour). When you wet the yeast, you wake them up and introduce them to the flour. The yeast eats the sugars from the flour and releases carbon dioxide, which causes the dough to rise. Keeping the yeast warm encourages it to keep “eating,” which helps the dough rise faster.

How do I know if my yeast is alive? 

The first step to making sure you have good yeast is checking the expiration date on the package or jar. If it is past its best-by date, then there’s a good chance the yeast is dead. You can test it by adding some yeast to a little bit of warm (not hot!) water with a sprinkle of sugar. If it foams up and smells like yeast, then it’s viable. If nothing happens, your yeast is dead, and you’ll need to buy fresh yeast.

Make these potato rolls for dinner!

• They only take 90 minutes to make. An hour and a half might not seem that fast, but it only takes a few minutes to prepare the dough.

• They’re super tender, fluffy, and flavorful. Thanks to the yeast and the potato flakes, these rolls have a unique texture. They’re soft, fluffy, and rich with great potato flavor.

• They’re incredibly versatile. Make a burger or a sandwich, spread it with butter or jam, dip it into soup, have it on the side of a casserole or eat it by itself – potato rolls are perfect for any meal.

Ingredients for Potato Buns 

• Instant potato flakes: Use unflavored instant potato flakes also called instant mashed potatoes.

• Yeast: I use Instant yeast for this recipe but active will work for this recipe. Instant cuts down on the time it takes for the dough to double in size.

• Egg: An egg wash over the top of the rolls makes them perfectly golden brown and helps the salt to stick.
  
• Pantry Staples – Flour, olive oil, water, salt

Instant Mashed Potatoes

Instant mashed potatoes or potato flakes are the secret to these fluffy, flavorful rolls. They’re a great shortcut to a tender homemade potato roll since you don’t have to boil a potato, and they reconstitute perfectly in the dough. Use plain potato flakes for this recipe. They can be hard to find in the grocery. Check on the pasta and rice aisle or sometimes they can be found on the baking aisle.

How To Make Soft, Fluffy Potato Rolls 

Step 1: Prepare the wet ingredients.  

Whisk warm water, oil, and sugar together in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup until sugar dissolves.

Step 2: Make the dough. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, potato flakes, yeast, and salt. Fix a dough hook attachment to the mixer and turn it to low speed. Add the wet ingredients in a steady stream and mix until the dough comes together. Increase the speed a bit and knead until the dough is smooth and comes away from the bowl. 

Step 3: Knead by hand and the first rise. 

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form a smooth ball. Lightly grease a bowl and place your dough ball in. Cover the with plastic wrap and place in a warm place (like the microwave!) until doubled in size. 

Step 4: Form the rolls and the second rise. 

On a lightly floured countertop, punch down the dough a bit. Divide the dough ball into quarters, then cut each quarter into thirds (this recipe makes 12 rolls). Form each piece into a ball by pinching and pulling the edges under to create a smooth top. Cup each ball with your palm and move in a circular motion to shape it into a smooth, taut ball. Place each roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and cover loosely with greased plastic wrap (cooking spray is great for this step). Put in a warm area to rise. 

Step 5: Bake the rolls. 

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet. Brush the rolls with a beaten egg, and then sprinkle them with salt. Bake until rolls are just beginning to brown and the outside is set. 

You can make these in advance. Just form the dough into rolls and place them on a baking sheet, then cover and refrigerate them for up to 24 hours, When it’s time to eat, let them sit on the counter to warm up while your oven preheats.

Tips for Making Perfect Potato Rolls 

•  Make sure you start with warm, not hot, water – if the water is too hot, you can kill the yeast, and your rolls won’t rise. 

• I like the rolls with a sprinkle of salt, but you can top them with whatever you like – poppy or sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, oats, or everything bagel seasoning are a few alternatives.

How to Proof Yeast Dough 

Many recipes for yeasted bread and rolls suggest that you let them rise in a warm oven. But honestly, who has an empty oven open an hour before dinner time? I know mine is probably occupied by a chicken casserole or pork chops. I also find that the oven method is generally too warm for the rolls causing them to rise too quickly.

So I have my own method for any type of yeast dough: I let them rise in the microwave. If you’ve never done it before, give it a try and let me know what you think – because I bet you’ll never go back. All you need to do is heat some water in a glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup.

Place your bowl of dough (covered with plastic wrap) in the microwave next to the open bowl of hot water and shut the door. The warm water keeps the microwave nice and toasty for the dough to rise, and the oven is free for whatever else you have to make! 

More Yeast Rolls to Try

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