On preparing to attend a chili cook-off last weekend, I simply wasn't feeling the competitive spirit. What I was feeling was a hankering for some warm, cloud-like cinnamon rolls. So, instead of bringing a pot of chili, I opted to bring cinnamon rolls as a dessert for after the competition was over. And while I wasn't competing, these big boys took the cake (so to speak) with one secret ingredient: potatoes!
Partygoers looked at me funny when they told me the rolls were moist and I told them there were potatoes in them. It's something I encountered years ago on a cinnamon-roll-baking kick, but then forgot about until this weekend's party. But when I started imagining soft, gooey cinnamon rolls chasing bowlsful of scrumptious chili it all came back to me: potatoes soak up more moisture than wheat flour alone and adding them to a whole array of baked goods from cakes to rolls makes for superior softness (think potato bread).
→ In my search for more info about potatoes in cinnamon rolls, I came across this article and recipe at Slate: You're Doing It Wrong: Cinnamon Rolls
→ The recipe I followed last weekend: Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls from Bon Appetit
Do you ever use potatoes or potato flakes in your baking?
Related: Four Reasons Why Potato Buns Rule
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I may need to try this in a recipe for lemon rolls (like a cinnamon roll, but with lemon instead and somehow they are even tastier).
That's how I've always made cinnamon rolls, and so did my mom and grandmother. In my family they're called "honey rolls" though, even no honey is involved. It's a potato dough made in the traditional cinnamon roll way, and then baked in a pan that has brown sugar and maple syrup in the bottom. When they're done you flip the pan over and you have delicious sticky cinnamon rolls.
The recipe we have calls for a vanilla pudding mix in the dough. That adds eggs and dairy without adding liquid, and gives a wonderfully soft and elastic end result. Swapping out some flour for potatoes sounds like a nice enhancement, though.
These all sound delicious!!! Never tried potatoes in a Hot Cross bun before. I'm going to try all of your reciepes. :)
Every year around Christmas I make the huge cinnamon roll recipe from the Pioneer Woman cook book. This year, I may have to make an adjustment, I am fascinated by this idea! And my potato obsessed boyfriend would probably die of happiness.
Oh, sure, grandmothers have been doing this for ages. Baked in a loaf pan, potato bread is moist, tender, and great for sandwiches. As your article points out, potato is also the key ingredient for super-moist cinnamon rolls. Bonus: the potato lets you keep the cinnamon roll dough fairly lean, so you can bake them more often! Hooray for potatoes!
I need cinnamon rolls like a hole in the head, but I may not be able to restraint myself.
instant or cooked pudding?
Yes! Have not tried it in cinnamon rolls, but potato is a great addition to pizza dough. I make my dough in the food processor, so if I have any leftover cooked potatoes (baked is best tasting; use the whole thing peel and all) I put it through the grater blade right into the bowl. Set up the dough hook blade, add the flour, pulse a few times, and proceed as usual with the dough recipe. You will use less liquid, so cut down the water you are soaking the yeast in by about 1/3. You can always add a bit more plain water at the end of mixing if it is still too stiff. Totally depends how much moisture is in the leftover potato you happen to use.
I keep a jar of potato flakes (along with other dough amendments like powdered milk and vital wheat gluten) with my baking supplies - I find a little addition of potato flakes makes rye and wheat breads less crumbly. It's my go-to when I want a tender sandwich-type loaf vs. something rustic. It's just part of the arsenal.
In my home town of El Dorado, Arkansas there is a doughnut shop that used potato flour exclusively. The Place is called, The Spudnut Shop, and their doughnuts are memorable.
Half way through making these cinnamon rolls and all of the commenters on Bon Appetit's website are right: you need WAY more flour than the recipe states. The dough is hardly like dough at first and way more like a batter. I got so annoyed at how much flour I had to keep adding to the recipe that I don't even know if I would call my dough "smooth" or "elastic." I just got it to the point where it was under control before letting it rise.
Sigh. I'll post an update once I've managed to roll them out and bake them. They had better be delicious.
Okay. They are officially delicious. I would make them again even after all of the absurdity that comes with kneading the dough.