Rosemary Potato Rolls

This recipe is based on one from King Arthur Flour. I have tried making this recipe in the King Arthur hamburger bun pan with excellent results. I make about two-thirds of the original recipe (quantities I use are given below). If fresh rosemary is sparse, it works to make a tea by steeping about ½ teaspoon of chopped rosemary in the water, then adding the rosemary along with ½ teaspoon of dried rosemary to the dry ingredients. Other spices work as well, such as Herbes de Provence.

Ingredients

• 190g warm water
• 1½ teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 teaspoons (25g) olive oil
• 245g all-purpose flour
• 12g dry milk or nonfat dry milk powder
• 30g potato flour or dried potato flakes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary optional
• ⅔ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast, and olive oil. Whisk to combine.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the dry milk and potato flour into the all-purpose flour.
3. Add the flour mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer. Add remaining ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
4. Knead at low speed in the mixer for about 8 minutes, until the dough is satiny and springs back when poked.
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, until almost doubled.
6. After the first rise, divide the dough into 6 portions (about 81-84g each), shape into rolls and place in the lightly buttered wells of the bun pan.
7. Let rise for 45 minutes (about 35 minutes in the oven with the light on, then remove and continue to rise for 10 minutes on the counter while the oven is heating). While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
8. Brush with light egg wash and bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown.

Notes

9 December 2023: Today I made these rolls in the 8-well “micro-loaf” pan. I kept all of the recipe proportions the same. Each bun weighed 63 grams. Baked at 375°F on rack 2 for 14 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes.

5 February 2024: I used this dough to make 4 rectangular sub rolls, each about 125 grams. I shaped them like small baguettes but was sure to flatten them, so they would be more rectangular than cylindrical, and placed them on a 13” x 18” baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. They kept their shape quite well. I followed the same procedure for rising times. I added egg wash before slashing the rolls once down their length. Baked on rack 3 for 14 minutes; did not rotate the pan.

10 February 2024: I made these into hamburger buns, as usual, but wanted to try making them somewhat flatter and wider than usual. Rather than rolling them as usual to create a lot of surface tension, I just tucked the ends under and rolled a few times, and then flattened them into the shape of a red blood cell, with a wide divot in the center. They kept this shape quite well throughout the rise and baking process. I followed the same baking process as usual, baking them on rack 2 for 14 minutes.