Description
These ridiculously soft and “buttery” sweet potato Parker house rolls are the best combination of potato dinner roll meets fancy, flaky croissant-like Parker house roll! Infused with a salted maple “butter,” these extra pillowy sweet potato dinner rolls are baked to golden perfection and beyond easy to make- you don’t even need any eggs nor dairy (so yeah, they’re vegan! 😉 ). The best side dinner roll for holiday meals and more!
Ingredients
Scale
Salted maple butter:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted vegan butter, room temperature
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp sea salt,
- Flaky sea salt, for topping when noted
Sweet potato Parker house rolls:
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) dairy free milk, warmed to 110F
- 1 packet (7 g) active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup (240 g) sweet potato puree (either from canned or freshly baked sweet potato)
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 5 cups (625 g) bread flour
- 7 tbsp salted vegan butter, room temperature
Vegan “egg” wash:
- 1 tbsp dairy free milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Prep: Read all instructions before beginning. Measure and weigh out all ingredients before beginning. Grease a large bowl with cooking or coconut oil and set aside (this bowl is for the rising and is different than the bowl you’ll use to mix the dough). Heat the dairy-free milk to 110F. Use a food thermometer to ensure that it’s exactly 110F.
- Activate the yeast: Once heated, add the yeast and sugar to the heated dairy-free milk. Stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Place the bowl in a warm area (75-80F) to activate for 10-12 minutes. Your yeast may bloom faster or slower depending on the warmth of the area. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells yeast-like and there is foam on the top of the dairy-free milk. If this hasn’t happened, you’ll need to start over.
- Make the dough: Add the activated yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with dough paddle attachment or a large bowl. Then add in the sweet potato puree, maple syrup and sea salt. Turn the stand mixer on to medium-low speed and mix (or use a large spoon to mix if doing by hand). Mix until just combined. Then add in the flour, and mix on medium speed until the flour starts to incorporate into the wet mixture. Next, add in the room temperature vegan butter. Mix again and knead until the butter has been fully incorporated, and you achieve a smooth dough. you can add more flour if the dough is too sticky, but you shouldn’t need to.
- Proof the dough: Then place the dough ball into the greased bowl, and cover with a thin clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm area that’s at least 85F. If your oven has a proof setting, you can use that. You can also heat the oven to 100F, then turn it off and keep the oven light on. Proof the dough until it’s doubled in size, about an hour. If your area is cooler, it will take longer, if it’s warmer, it will be quicker.
- During the rise: While the dough is rising, you can grease a medium casserole dish with cooking oil. Set aside. Then make the salted maple butter by whisking together the room temperature vegan butter, maple syrup, and sea salt. Set aside. Prepare a large casserole dish (10×13″ general size) by greasing with oil or vegan butter and lining with parchment paper if desired for easy removal after baking.
- Shape the Parker house rolls: Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down lightly and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a clean surface. Use a pizza cutter or large kitchen knife to divide the dough in half. Roll one half out to be 16×12″. Spread 1/4 cup of the maple salted butter onto the dough. Then on either 16″ side of the dough rectangle, mark the dough in 2″ intervals. Use a pizza slicer or large kitchen knife to slice each mark into eight 2×12″ strips. Roll each strip like a cinnamon roll, and place seam-side down in the prepared baking tray. Repeat for the other dough half. You will yield 16 rolls.
- Second rise: cover the Parker house rolls with a thin clean dish towel again and place in a warm area (by the oven is fine) to nearly double in size again, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Make the “egg” wash: once the rolls have risen and the oven is preheated, mix together the dairy free milk and maple syrup for the bread wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the mixture over the tops of the rolls.
- Bake the dinner rolls: Place the dinner rolls into the oven to bake for 28-33 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls are golden brown. Remove the dinner rolls from the oven.
- Cool: Allow them to cool slightly before serving. You can prepare an additional batch of salted maple butter to serve with the warm rolls. Brush with either extra maple butter or melted plain vegan butter, then sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt.
- Storage: Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container or baggy. They will last at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
See blog post for step-by-step images.
Flour: I recommend bread flour, but all-purpose flour will work too. It will just produce a slightly less risen roll, as bread flour contains more gluten/protein, which offers more structure.
Sweet potato: You can use canned sweet potato puree or fresh sweet potato puree, either baked or steamed. Just make sure to blend the sweet potato to a puree if using either fresh method, as you want it to integrate into the dough seamlessly.