Soft and Fluffy Amish Potato Rolls

These potato rolls, aka Amish rolls, are always soft, fluffy, and completely irresistible! For that reason, I’ve started doubling my batches so I don’t run out. These are may family’s favorite dinner rolls and I make them for every holiday, all year round.

The “not-so-secret” ingredient for these homemade potato polls is the cup of mashed potatoes that gets mixed into the dough. These rolls are angelically soft and fluffy while also being just dense enough to retain their moisture in the most incredible way. Thank you, mashed potatoes!

Many people feel intimidated by homemade dinner rolls, but trust me, you will be just fine! I’ve simplified the steps here so they’re clear, concise, and directly to the point.

Key Ingredients, Tips and Substitutions

Mashed potatoes – leftover mashed potatoes work perfectly for dinner rolls! It’s easy to plan for making potato rolls during the holidays as well. If you plan on making mashed potatoes for dinner, simply set aside 1 cup of mashed potatoes to make the dinner rolls with. You can also set some aside from previous dinner and freeze it for later.

Rapid rise yeast (aka instant) – this is your friend when you want to make yeast dough but fast and easy. Rapid rise yeast doesn’t require blooming (dissolving with warm liquid to activate) and can go right into the dough. It also has a faster raise time than active dry yeast. (I’m a fan!)

Whole milk – using whole milk is best because you need to fats in this milk to work with other ingredients to create the best texture and raise of the dinner rolls.

AP Flour – no muss, no fuss, simply use all purpose flour. These rolls are not finicky and don’t require any special flours.

How To Make Potato Rolls

Heat up the liquids. Combine the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot over medium heat and heat through until the butter starts to melt. You’re looking for the temperature of 120–130°F since we’re using rapid rise (instant) yeast. Make sure to stir slowly as you get it up to the temperature.

Make the dough. Combine 2 cups of flour and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Turn the mixer (with paddle attachment) on low and slowly stir in the warm milk mixture and the egg. Mix in the cup of mashed potatoes. Continue to mix on low until combined or your ingredients will fly all over the place! Raise the speed to medium-high and beat for approximately 2-3 minutes.

Scrape the sides as needed and add the rest of the flour while the mixer is on low speed. Be sure to only add 1/2 cup at a time.

Knead and let rise. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface until it’s elastic. Add more flour if needed.

Rest #1. Place the kneaded dough into a lightly greased bowl. Roll it around a little in the bowl to grease the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel. Keep it in a warm, dry place and let the dough rise for 1 hour until it’s doubled in size.

Expert tip: you are looking for a warm but not hot place to let the dough rise.

Raise #2. Punch the dough down in the center. Then, take it out of the bowl and half it. Cover and let rest for another 10 minutes.

Bake the rolls. Roll each half into a long roll, then divide each roll into 12 even smooth balls. Place the rolls onto a lightly greased baking pan.

Raise #3. Cover and let them rise for about half an hour or until doubled in size.

Bake for 18-20 minutes at 375°F.

Temperature of the rolls when done: Enriched breads and rolls (enriched with eggs and flour) are best to cook to about 190°F internal temperature. This way, they are golden brown on the outside and baked through but still soft and fluffy.

Best Places To Let The Dough Rise

It’s best to let the dough rise in a warm and somewhat humid setting so it rises well, but not hot:

• In your turned-off oven (my favorite): turn on the oven light to gradually raise the temperature. The ideal temperature is between 75°F and 78°F. You can even set a roasting pan with some boiled hot water on the bottom of the oven.
• In a “steamed” microwave Boil a couple of cups of water in the microwave to create a warm and humid space. Then, carefully (and quickly) remove the water and place the dough inside.
• On top of an appliance Place the dough on top of a refrigerator or water heater, as these appliances constantly run and are typically warmer than the room. (Careful so it’s not a hot surface!)
• On a heating pad Set a heating pad to low and cover it with a heavy towel to prevent the dough from getting too hot on the bottom.

Tips for the Making Potato Dinner Rolls

If you want larger rolls, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. If you want smaller dinner rolls, divide the dough into 24 equal pieces.

You can also decide the look of your rolls. For rolls that sit tight together and are more pull apart, place the 16 dough rolls into 13×9 baking dish and close together. If you want them to look more like individual rolls that are brown on all sides, use a large baking sheet, space them about 2 inches apart, and divide them among 2 baking pans.

What Are The Best Ways To Store Dinner Rolls?

You can store the rolls for a few of days at room temperature. Make sure to keep the rolls an airtight plastic bag or in an airtight food storage container.

How long the rolls last highly depends on the conditions, like temperature and humidity. If you live in a humid environment, they will only last a couple of days.

You can also keep the in the refrigerator for a few days longer and simply reheat then for a few seconds in the microwave when needed. Store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator as well.

How to Freeze Potato Rolls?

You can freeze these dinner rolls before or after baking.

To freeze before baking: Follow the same recipe, but stop before baking. Cover a cutting board with parchment paper and place the rolled Potato Rolls on it. Place them then into the freezer and let them sit for 2-3 hours. Once frozen, you can transfer the rolls into a large freezer friendly zip-top bag. Get as much air out as you can, label, and freeze for up to 2 months.

Thaw and bake: When you’re ready to bake, thaw the rolls first, then place the dinner rolls into greased pans to thaw and rise. It will take about 4-6 hours for the rolls to thaw and rise. Bake as instructed.

To freeze them baked: Make the rolls per the recipe instructions and allow them to cool completely. Portion the rolls into several freezer-friendly plastic bags, or a couple of larger ones. You can also opt to wrap them in foil a few at a time. Make sure to wrap them airtight, maybe in a couple of layers. You can also place the wrapped rolls in an airtight freezer storage container. The freezer shelf life of dinner rolls is only about 2 months.

More Bread Recipes To Make

Who doesn’t love bread with dinner?! We love rolls like these as well as my lemon honey dinner rolls and of course cheesy stuffed dinner rolls. You also can’t go wrong with Southern buttermilk biscuits, honey butter biscuits, buttermilk cornbread

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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in November, 2013.