MAKES 9 BUNS
These rolls are ideal for both burgers and sandwiches. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix the dough by hand following the instructions. Don’t salt the cooking water for the potatoes. A pound of russet potatoes should yield just over 1 very firmly packed cup (½ pound) of mash. To ensure optimum rise, your dough should be warm; if your potatoes or potato cooking water are too hot to touch, let cool before proceeding with the recipe. This dough looks very dry when mixing begins but will soften as mixing progresses. If you prefer, you may portion the rolls by weight in step 5 (2.75 ounces of dough per roll). See the sidebars that follow the recipe.
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1 |
pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces |
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2 |
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces |
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2¼ |
cups (12⅓ ounces) bread flour |
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1 |
tablespoon sugar |
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2 |
teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast |
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1 |
teaspoon salt |
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2 |
large eggs, 1 lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water and pinch salt |
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1 |
tablespoon sesame seeds (optional) |
1. Place potatoes in medium saucepan and add water to just cover. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer 5 tablespoons potato cooking water to bowl to cool; drain potatoes. Return potatoes to saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, shaking pot occasionally, until any surface moisture has evaporated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Process potatoes through ricer or food mill, or mash well with potato masher. Measure 1 very firmly packed cup potatoes and transfer to bowl. Reserve any remaining potatoes for another use. Stir in butter until melted.
3. Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in bowl of stand mixer. Add warm potato mixture to flour mixture and mix with your hands until combined (some large lumps are OK). Add 1 egg and reserved potato cooking water; mix with dough hook on low speed until dough is soft and slightly sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Shape dough into ball and place in lightly greased container. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Turn out dough onto counter, dusting with flour only if dough is too sticky to handle comfortably. Pat gently into 8-inch square of even thickness. Using bench knife or chef’s knife, cut dough into 9 pieces (3 rows by 3 rows). Separate pieces and cover loosely with plastic.
6. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, form dough pieces into smooth, taut rounds. (To round, set piece of dough on unfloured work surface. Loosely cup your hand around dough and, without applying pressure to dough, move your hand in small circular motions. Tackiness of dough against work surface and circular motion should work dough into smooth, even ball, but if dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust fingers with flour.) Cover rounds with plastic and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
7. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, firmly press each dough round into 3½-inch disk of even thickness, expelling large pockets of air. Arrange on prepared sheets. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. While rolls rise, adjust oven racks to middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 425 degrees.
8. Brush rolls gently with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake rolls until deep golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating and switching sheets halfway through baking. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer rolls from sheets to wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.