No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls

These soft, tender, No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls are perfect for dinner and make great sandwiches. They're easy to put together with just one bowl - no mixer needed!

Did you know that adding potatoes (or potato water) to bread dough makes the finished product super soft and tender? Not sure who came up with this idea but it had to be some frugal soul who didn't like waste. It turns out that it was a brilliant idea as potatoes, according to King Arthur (the baking gurus), "are the secret to ultra-tender, ultra-soft bread and rolls". And this "starch magic" is also true in regard to sweet potatoes. These No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls are living-proof!

I love, each year, as the holidays approach, coming up with new dinner roll and/or bread recipes. This year I thought it would be fun to develop a recipe for sweet potato rolls. I've used sweet potatoes in sides, soup, a holiday casserole, salads, cake and cheesecake and love the depth of flavor, great nutrition and beautiful "glow"  they impart to everything.

Magic

I discovered the magic of regular potatoes in yeast bread when I developed our No-Knead Potato Rolls (pictured above) earlier this year and I wondered if sweet potatoes would work the same way.

The first bite of these No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls ensured me that I was on the right path! They're light, delicate and fluffy with a slight sweetness that's irresistible! A few bonuses that sweet potatoes have over regular potatoes - they add that touch of sweetness, a punch of extra flavor and a whole lot of great nutrition!

How to enjoy these No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls

They're fabulous on their own but quite ethereal with a little schmear of our creamy herb butter.

We've tried them for sandwiches with thinly sliced leftover chicken and piled with a simple egg salad... SO good! I suspect they'll also be fabulous on the dinner table, paired with just about anything.

They make a delicious side for salads and soups. How about a leftover turkey sandwich spread with one of our super easy fig jams or this Orange Cranberry Marmalade? Or using them to sop up the last remnants of gravy... oh my... I can't wait!

A few other ways to shape this dough

In addition to free-form dinner rolls, pictured throughout this post, you can make them a little larger for a sandwich or burger roll. I've also made them in 2 12-cup muffin pans which give them a whole different look. And if you prefer, mini loaves, this recipe will yield 4-6 beautiful loaves, perfect for the bread basket or for toasting. Sometimes I make one muffin pan of rolls and two or three mini loaves. Mix and match it up however you like!

The crowning glory

As mentioned above, there are so many ways to enjoy these fabulous No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls, but our favorite way is to serve them warm with a pretty little bowl of Herb Butter. I'm including the simple recipe in the Notes section of the recipe card below.

The herb butter takes just a bit of extra time but the rave reviews and rolling eyes as family and friends take the first taste, is worth all the effort!

Pick up a few sweet potatoes and put these No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls on your must-make-soon list! You might just win a popularity contest! Cheers!

Cafe Tips for making these No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls

• Yeast dough likes a warm, cozy place to hang out. If your house is chilly, there are a few things you can do to create a nice warm yeast-friendly place.
  • If you have a warming drawer, set the temperature at 80-85˚F. It makes a happy home for dough.
  • Turn your oven to 350˚F for 2 minutes then turn the oven off. Leave the light on and place your dough in the oven.
  • Vigorously boil a cup of water in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. This will create a lot of nice, warm steam. Place your dough in the microwave and close the door.
  • Set the bowl in the sink in a larger bowl of hot water.
  • If you have a load of laundry drying, set the covered bowl on top of the dryer. Make sure you have it on a towel, or it might "wander" off the top of your dryer - that would be really sad!
  • Place the bowl on a heating pad.
• This recipe calls for bread flour or all-purpose flour. I like to use bread flour as it has a higher protein content which makes the dough a little more stable and yields a slightly higher rise. That being said, I've also used all-purpose flour for these rolls with good success.
• This dough is thick. I like to use a heavy-duty spatula with a wooden handle to mix it up.
• Can you use an electric mixer for this recipe? Yes, of course you can. I prefer not having to pull out my mixer, but if you have any issues stirring up a thick dough, by all means use your mixer!
• Don't be afraid to generously flour your work surface when shaping these dinner rolls. For years, I had trouble making bread and would get so frustrated because the dough would stick to the counter or my hands and everything would be a big mess. I finally learned that I just wasn't using enough flour. Don't overdo the flour, but use enough so that the dough isn't sticky.
• A dough scraper is a super handy tool to have when working with yeast doughs. It's great for scraping the counter and also works well to transfer the dough from one place to another.
• If your baked rolls seem to get too brown on the underside, your oven may run a little hot near the bottom. To remedy this, use a second sheet pan underneath the top parchment-lined pan.
• You need instant yeast for this recipe. Instant yeast is available at most grocery stores. It's sometimes called rapid-rise yeast, quick-rise yeast or bread machine yeast. I like to buy my instant yeast in bulk as it's infinitely cheaper than purchasing the little packets. It will keep for months in the refrigerator and indefinitely in the freezer. I keep a small jar in the refrigerator at all times and the rest in the freezer. I refill my little jar as needed.
• And last, but NOT LEAST, don't forget the yeast!! I put together a batch of this dough when I got up this morning. I went about my business for the next hour and when I returned to the kitchen, expecting to see a bowl of beautifully risen dough, I was shocked! It looked exactly like when I had left it. YIKES, I thought to myself, you forgot the yeast. Luckily, instant yeast is very forgiving. I sprinkled the amount called for over the dough and spent a minute or two working it in with my spatula. After another hour, I was surprised to find my dough happy and high in the bowl!

Thought for the day:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to His great mercy,
He has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Hope Has A Name

If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It's so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

Scroll Down for the Recipe - or Save It to Your Inbox

We’ll email you the recipe so it’s easy to save, print, or share.

SUBMIT

No Knead Sweet Potato Rolls (with Herb Butter)

Chris Scheuer

These soft, tender, No-Knead Sweet Potato Rolls are perfect for dinner and make great sandwiches. They're easy to put together with just one bowl - no mixer needed!

4 from 1 vote

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Rising Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings 24

Calories 140

PRINT PIN COMMENTS

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

.5x1x2x

For the sweet potato mash:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, or 1 large - you want to start with about a pound (454g) of sweet potato)

For the dough:

• ¾ cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup honey
• 4 cups bread flour, or all-purpose flour
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast, (1 packet here in the US)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup milk, cold from the refrigerator
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk

For the egg wash:

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

 

For the prep:

1. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper OR spray two 12-cup muffin pans with non-stick baking spray.
2. This recipe will make 24 rolls right around 2 ounces or 60g. Another option is to use one 12-cup muffin pan and use two or three small loaf pans (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) for the remaining dough. (The loaves will be larger if you divide the dough in two instead of three but either works!)

For the sweet potatoes:

1. Scrub the sweet potato(s) and poke all over with a fork or small knife. Set on a paper towel and microwave on high power for 4 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and microwave for another 4 minutes or until nice and soft. (Microwaves vary in wattage so yours may take a little more or less on the second side. My microwave is 900 watts.)
2. Cut each sweet potato in half and set them on a dinner-size plate to cool a bit white you get started with the dough.

For the dough:

1. While the sweet potatos are cooling, combine water, butter, oil and honey in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl or cup. Cook on high power for 2 minutes.
2. While the water mixture is heating, combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and stir well to combine. Set aside.
3. Add the milk to the hot water/butter mixture and stir to combine. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk.
4. As soon as the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, squeeze or scoop out the flesh onto the plate. Cut off and discard the ends if they look discolored. Mash the flesh with a potato masher or fork until fairly lump-free. Measure out ¾ cup.
5. Whisk the mashed sweet potatoes into the milk mixture. Keep whisking until the sweet potatoes are well incorporated.
6. Add the egg/milk/sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir from the bottom up, until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass. The dough will be thick. Keep scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl until every last bit of flour is incorporated.
7. Drizzle a little oil (I use olive oil but any oil will do) over the top of the dough to keep the dough from drying out. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and set the bowl in a warm place (see Café Tips above in the post for how to create a warm, cozy rising spot) for 1 hour or until the dough is doubled in size.
8. Sprinkle ¼ cup of flour onto a work surface. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Turn the dough with a dough scraper or spatula until it’s thoroughly coated with flour.

To shape the dough:

1. Divide the dough into 24 portions, each one about 2 ounces (or 60g). (I like to use a kitchen scale for this but you can just eyeball it.) Roll each ball of dough to coat with flour. (You will most likely need more flour. I usually use at least a half cup of extra flour for making the dough balls)
2. Holding a piece of dough in your dominant hand, tuck the edges under with the other hand , rotating the dough so that all the edges get tucked under and the top has formed a smooth round ball. (If the dough feels sticky while shaping the rolls, just roll it in a little more flour.)
3. You can stop at this point and place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets but here’s how to form perfect balls - put a drop or two of oil (again I use olive oil but any oil will do) on a clean area of your counter. Rub the oil with your hand to create a thin coating on the counter surface. Now place one of the tucked under balls of dough on this oiled area and roll it with your hand to create a perfectly round ball. Place the ball of dough on one of the prepared sheet pans. Repeat with remaining portions of dough.
4. Note: if I’m making these rolls in muffin pans, I like to place them in the cups with the pinched side up. That gives them a pretty artisan look when baked.
5. Cover rolls with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes in a warm area. They should start to puff up but won’t be doubled in size this time.

For the egg wash:

1. Combine egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Stir well to combine with a fork or mini whisk.
2. Brush each roll with the egg wash. Try to keep the egg wash from dripping onto the parchment paper.

To bake and store:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Place the rolls in the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until medium golden brown. (The mini loaves will take a bit longer, 25-30 minutes. Cover them with foil towards the end if they seem to be getting too brown.) Transfer rolls to a cooling rack or serve warm, slathered with butter and jam or honey (SO good!).
3. When completely cooled, rolls can be transferred to an airtight container or can be frozen. Warm in the oven for 10 minutes at 325 degrees before serving.

Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

FOR THE HERB BUTTER:
Combine 4 ounces (113g) of very soft butter with one teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest and one tablespoon of finely chopped herbs. In summer, I like to use thyme, basil and rosemary. In the fall, sage is a nice addition but use whatever you love. Stir the mixture until well combined then transfer it to a pretty bowl. I like to use a small rounded knife to add the butter, turning the bowl as I add each addition, creating a pretty ruffly effect. This butter can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated or several weeks in advance, stored in the freezer. Thaw before using.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 220mgPotassium: 106mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2750IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 0.4mg

We love seeing what you made!Tag @thecafesucrefarine on Instagram for a chance to be featured.

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American