Potato Rolls

This recipe is from my friend Sadie and I'm SO glad she shared it with me! These rolls are great! I love the texture. They are very easy to make because they rise in the fridge so you can make the dough in the morning and then let it rise all day in the fridge and make them before dinner. The recipe makes 24 so we had them last night with broccoli cheese soup and will have them tonight with sloppy joes.

Potato Rolls

5 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup mashed potatoes (I used prepared instant mashed potatoes)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a mixer combine 2 cups of flour and yeast. In a separate bowl combine: warm water, mashed potatoes, melted butter, sugar and salt. Add wet ingredients to the flour/yeast mixture in the mixer. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of the bowl. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and beat on high for about 2 minutes (you may need more or less flour to achieve a firm dough that pulls away from sides of bowl). Place dough in a large bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, cover with non-stick sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.

Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan for pull-apart rolls or 2 cookie sheets for separated free form rolls. Shape dough into 24 equal rolls - rolls can be shaped by holding a ball of dough in your hand and gently smoothing by pushing the edges towards the back. Place rolls in the pan/pans: 6 rows of 4 rolls for pull-aparts or 12 rolls per cookie sheet for free form rolls. Cover with non-stick sprayed plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place* until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes for pull-aparts, 12-14 minutes for free form rolls; rolls should be golden brown on top and bottom. Take out of oven and brush with melted butter if desired.

*I let the shaped rolls rise in a warm oven. I preheat my oven to 170 degrees, turn it off, put the covered rolls in the oven with the door left cracked opened and let rise till doubled in size.