Recipe from Tanya Holland
Adapted by Korsha Wilson
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus proofing and cooling
- Rating
- 4(235)
- Notes
- Read community notes
With its luscious mouthfeel and round flavor, the sweet potato is a quintessential soul food ingredient. In this recipe, from “Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes From a Culinary Journey West” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), Ms. Holland uses the vegetable’s texture and flavor as background notes in these buttery pull-apart rolls. While you can make the dough easily using a stand mixer, you can also do it by hand with a whisk, achieving the same finished product. Serve the rolls with room temperature butter for spreading, or alongside a soup, for soaking up broth. —Korsha Wilson
Featured in: The Chef Tanya Holland Chronicles the Journey of ‘California Soul’
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Ingredients
Yield:15 rolls
- 1small orange-fleshed sweet potato (6 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- Salt
- ½cup buttermilk
- ¼cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing and about 3 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the rolls
- 4cups/512 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2¼teaspoons instant yeast (1 envelope)
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2large eggs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings)
179 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 154 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a small saucepan, combine the sweet potato with enough water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down the heat to medium and gently boil until the sweet potato is very tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 13 minutes.
Step
2
Drain and transfer the sweet potato to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher or fork. Add the buttermilk and ¼ cup of the butter.
Step
3
If you’re using a stand mixer, beat the sweet potato mixture with a paddle attachment at medium-low speed until fairly smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, yeast, sugar, eggs and 1½ teaspoons salt and mix on medium-low speed, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula, until the dough is smooth and sticky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. Add a little more flour if the dough is very sticky.
Step
4
If you’re using a whisk, beat the sweet potato mixture in the bowl until the mixture is fairly smooth and no lumps remain. Add the flour, yeast, sugar, eggs and 1½ teaspoons salt and stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are well combined. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes; it will be slightly sticky.
Step
5
Grease the inside of a large bowl with butter. Transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 1½ hours, or until it has more than doubled in size.
Step
6
Place the dough on a clean, ungreased surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces, each weighing about 65 grams. Working with one piece of dough at a time, cup each piece beneath your palm and work in quick, circular motions to form a tight ball, with only a tiny seam along the bottom.
Step
7
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with more butter and arrange the dough balls in evenly spaced rows. Brush the balls with butter, loosely cover the pan and set aside in a warm place until the balls have turned puffy, doubled in size, and fill the pan, about 1 hour.
Step
8
About 15 minutes before the rolls are done rising, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Brush the rolls gently with a little more butter.
Step
9
Let cool for 10 minutes, and then turn out the rolls onto the rack and invert again so they are bottom-side down. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
235
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Cooking Notes
Suzinsf
Generally, you can skip the proofing in a warm spot (partway through step 7) and instead cover the formed rolls and do a slow cold ferment in the fridge overnight. I do that with various bread and rolls and bread and you actually get a more complex flavor with a cold ferment.
John
Please please please be consistent with measurements - this recipe has grams, cups, teaspoons , ounces and then asks to measure the rolls in 65 gram lots, it would be so helpful to show all 3 measurements or just be consistent with one type - thank you - I really enjoy so many of the recipes you but consistent measurements would be great.
Allison
I made these tonight and they are amazing! The roll is tender but has structure from the sweet potato. I followed the recipe. It is very dry right now so I added about a tablespoon extra of buttermilk. I did use my stand mixer for 8 minutes and needed to put the dough in a very warm place to help them rise. These are excellent with some butter and a little honey, or just by themselves.
Barbara
Could this be made with Gluten free flour? Looks wonderful!
Richard
The weight is provided, and is a more accurate measure.
Jerry Baiamonte
At what stage can one stop and "hold" for a day ahead of time baking?
Jean
Could you please give a meaurement (in cups) for the sweet potato? My definition of "small" could vary greatly from others. Thank you
Suzinsf
My guess is no. Baking bread with gluten free flour is fraught with trial and error, and many times, disappointing in the extreme. Ask me how I know. However you may have some luck converting this recipe by reading (and strictly following) the guidelines given by the blogger Gluten-Free on a Shoestring. Of all the bloggers I've tried recipes from, hers are the most thoroughly and scientifically researched. She's put a huge amount of energy and time (not to mention money) formulating her recipes.
Kelly
Made these today and loved them. Followed the recipe exactly EXCEPT that I also added a sprinkling of Maldon salt along with the final brushing of butter. Highly recommend. All I could think of while eating them is how perfect they would be with a hearty bowl of groundnut stew. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Maxine
Very easy to make, these buns are visually appealing and have a perfect texture. I think they are much better when fully cooled. They were an excellent accompaniment to Melissa Clark's Golden Leek and Potato Soup.
Apoorva
I am notorious for not being able to make any type of leavened bread (despite being a decent cook) and these looked so good I thought I'd give them a try! They came out perfectly! Probably didn't mix properly in the stand mixer, maybe the dough was too wet, didn't measure the balls by weight.. and still made the softest, perfect, pull apart buns. They didn't even last a day! Keeper recipe!!
Lou
I didn't have buttermilk, so I subbed out from plain yogurt, and these rolls were delicious! Fluffy and such a gorgeous color. I halved the recipe and made 9 slightly smaller rolls in a 8x8 pan (about 58 grams each roll). They got a second life a couple days later made into toasted ham and cheese sliders.
Nancy
Followed the recipe using a stand mixer and the dough hook for the 8 minute knead. It is a dry dough and rose nicely. Take the time to shape the balls and they are picture perfect. Tender and tasty
Michele
I followed the recipe mostly exactly. I had 5.6 oz of leftover roasted sweet potatoes and used those instead of boiling a new batch. I made the rolls sandwich roll size instead of little dinner roll size. Sooooo goood! I can even taste a hint of sweet potato in the rolls.
Miko
These weee a huge disappointment. Very under-seasoned, lacking in flavor.
Matt
Some people put their breads in the refrigerator overnight for a slow rise. If it's winter time, I will do a slow rise too but leave it in the garage because it's usually a similar temperature. Just cover tightly with cling wrap to keep the nasties out, and you save some space in your fridge. You could probably leave the dough on a balcony or fire escape just the same if you are a city dweller and weather won't drop below freezing at night. Small kitchen strategies!
dmf
I cooked 70g dough for 15 mins at 375 and they were a beautiful golden brown. Unfortunately they turned out to not be completely cooked—doughy, definitely under cooked. Next time I’ll cook 20-25 mins. Otherwise delicious.
GW
I found that 65 gram portions left me with about 300 grams extra, so I had to add some back to each portion. In total it was more like 85 grams each.
Tom
These have become a regular at our house. I beat the sweet potato and butter together in a stand mixer, add the buttermilk and eggs and mix until combined, then switch to a dough hook, add the dry ingredients and knead for 6 minutes. I've also taken to doing an overnight proof in the refrigerator for the second rise. The results are consistently light, moist, and flavorful, and the color is terrific.
Lou
I didn't have buttermilk, so I subbed out from plain yogurt, and these rolls were delicious! Fluffy and such a gorgeous color. I halved the recipe and made 9 slightly smaller rolls in a 8x8 pan (about 58 grams each roll). They got a second life a couple days later made into toasted ham and cheese sliders.
Jeff Kinzer
I followed the recipe as directed, turned out delicious. I was impressed with how well they tasted even two days later.
Peter
Is the warmth from the sweet potato mixture enough to activate the yeast? In which case, you need to add the yeast while that warmth is there, since there’s no warm water to activate?Just asking, because I struggle with yeast which seems terribly finicky to me, but I love yeast breads.
Pretzel
Instant yeast will be activated anyway - it will just take longer in a cool dough. Good luck!
Jen1043
The dough was very dry and wouldn't come together until I added more buttermilk. I didn't measure the extra buttermilk, rather just kept pouring more in while it was mixing until the dough felt ready to knead.
Blossom
I baked these today, for Christmas dinner. I weighed all the ingredients. The dough was still very wet. I had to add about half a cup more of flour to get the dough to come together. It really strained my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. The rolls came out light, fluffy and tasty, although the sweet potato didn't stand out, taste wise. They also didn't brown much, even after baking for an additional five minutes. Overall consensus: Very good, but not amazing.
Lolly
I microwaved the sweet potato. My dough was dry, definitely not sticky. I added some buttermilk as suggested by another commenter. So I think boiling the sweet potato would add more moisture to make a stickier dough. We’ll see how the texture is and how they taste but they look perfect.
Michele
I followed the recipe mostly exactly. I had 5.6 oz of leftover roasted sweet potatoes and used those instead of boiling a new batch. I made the rolls sandwich roll size instead of little dinner roll size. Sooooo goood! I can even taste a hint of sweet potato in the rolls.
Lolo
Do any of you know if these just as good the next day, when reheated? I'd like to serve them to company, but it looks like too much for me to do on a day guests are coming. Thanks!
Maxine
Very easy to make, these buns are visually appealing and have a perfect texture. I think they are much better when fully cooled. They were an excellent accompaniment to Melissa Clark's Golden Leek and Potato Soup.
Nancy
Followed the recipe using a stand mixer and the dough hook for the 8 minute knead. It is a dry dough and rose nicely. Take the time to shape the balls and they are picture perfect. Tender and tasty
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