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Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

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My family most often gathered around my Grandma and Grandpa’s table for Thanksgiving. Grandma’s table was never fancy looking and never had a swank tablescape. To the best of my recollection, I don’t even think any of the dishes matched. We all dressed comfortably and most definitely casually. Here’s the thing, though.

NO ONE who sat there and ate her food cared one little bit because everyone who walked through those doors could smell the feast that awaited them and felt the love that had invited them to dine together on Grandma’s finest fare. It was a case of love goggles at the table, folks. Everything took on a magical glow. Now just imagine you’re sitting at that stretched-to-capacity-table with all the leaves in place. What do you go for first after Grandpa says grace? Do you grab for the platter of turkey? The mashed potatoes and gravy boat? The cranberry sauce?

I can tell you without fear of exaggeration that every single Thanksgiving of my life, I reached first for the rolls. Carbs and I go way back. Grandma’s rolls were the stuff of legend. She served two kinds every year: Honey Potato Wheat Rolls and Buttery Crescent Rolls. Her rolls were known far and wide for their stellar buttery softness. Grandma always kept a few aside in a little bread basket on top of the refrigerator for me not because this picky kid deserved it, but because she loved me and she had to be a little moved by my unwavering enthusiasm for her breadstuffs.

I think the bread was the only item at the table that got a fancier serving vessel. It was always in a cotton towel lined bread basket or bread bowl, and where it was you would find me.

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast. Active Dry Yeast or Instant are both acceptable or one packet
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water for best flavour, use the water in which you cooked potatoes
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup preferably dark
  • 1 cup lukewarm mashed sweet potatoes
  • 2/3 cup butter softened to room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 5 to 5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

To Make the Dough:

  • In a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water and maple syrup, stir gently and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add everything but the flours and stir well (using a sturdy spoon or dough hook) to combine. Add the white whole wheat flour and 2 cups of the all purpose flour and stir well until even. Add the remaining flour and stir it in. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to knead it. Otherwise, turn onto a generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Transfer the dough into a large clean mixing bowl or dough bucket, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours but no longer than 5 days.

To Shape the Rolls:

  • Grease or butter two 9”x13” rectangular or four 8” round baking pans or 3 standard sized muffin pans and set them aside.
  • Turn the dough onto a floured surface and punch it down. Divide in half, then portion each half into 20 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
  • If making standard dinner rolls, place the dough balls into the prepared pans (5 rows of 4 in each rectangular pan or 10 rolls in each round pan.) If making cloverleaf rolls, divide each ball into 3 pieces, roll them into tight balls, toss with melted butter, and put 3 balls in each prepared muffin tin. Either way, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy in appearance and nearly doubled in size, about 2 hours.

To Bake the Rolls:

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Bake the rolls for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. If desired, brush the finished rolls with melted butter.

This post was originally published November 14th, 2014.

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  3. kate C. says

    Magazine worthy? Maybe if the magazine is called: “random assortment of whatever containers best hold the really delicious food made for people that love food and don’t care about decorating.”

    Reply

  8. Kyla says

    Personalities! We don’t even set the table–everything is served buffet style in mismatched dishes. It’s the food that counts, not how it’s presented!

    Reply

  10. Anne Weber-Falk says

    My table is loaded with people personality! I will make these rolls for those people. Question about the flour…am I using WHITE WHOLE WHEAT flour or regular whole wheat flour? Your description says one thing and the list of ingredients says another. Thanks for all you do. I really enjoy your site.

    Reply

  12. Jill says

    Our table decorations are provided by the 8 year old (with help from the 6, 3, and 1 year olds)… I don’t know of a magazine that would be interested! 🙂 The recipe looks amazing; I can’t wait to try it! Thanks, Rebecca!

    Reply

  13. Jennifer says

    Our table isn’t magazine pretty, but we love it. Our centerpieces are the Thanksgiving projects the kids made at school. We use our everyday dishes, and the food is set up buffet style on the kitchen island, so those centerpieces really shine! It would be great to add something pretty to the mix.

    Reply

  14. Karen says

    I was just thinking of this the other day, there is not room for candles or fancy centerpieces. We have a family crowded around the table. There are fiver generations represented; the past is there in my Nana’s china, my Grandmother’s relish bowl, my Mother in Law’s wine glasses and the faces of three generations.

    Reply

  16. Nicole D says

    Yes we love to have the kids help us in the decorating of the table for Thanksgiving. We love for everyone to have there own personal touch to it, so it may be a little mix of style, but it is all about each and everyone’s sense of taste and likes, as I think everyone brings something that makes our table scape unique.

    Reply

  19. Pam says

    Definitely not magazine pretty, with my hodgepodge of serving pieces and slightly stained tablecloth. Thanksgiving (at least to me) is more about the food and the people anyway.

    Reply

  20. Marina says

    I keep it pretty simple. Herb garnishes. Wipe down the edges of the platters. Mini pumpkins with votive candles inserted in them placed here and there. I decorate the buffet in dining room with desserts on glass platters or pedestals. That’s it!

    Reply

  23. Heather says

    I only have everyday dishes, nothing spectacular. My table is definitely decorated by the personalities of the people who sit around it!

    Reply

  28. Chris B says

    I set my Thanksgiving (Christmas, New Years & Easter) table with my 20+ year old fine china, crystal, and silver. Both our families believed that newly wedded couples should have “proper” dinnerware for special occasions. Since we are a family-on-the-go 90% of the time, tradition of unwrapping the china and polishing the silverware makes us slow down and focus on setting up for a celebration. The teenage boys actually enjoy the ritual which sets it aside from just grabbing a regular dinner plate and plastic cup!

    Thanks for the recipe, these rolls are going to make an appearance on the table very soon. They sound divine!

    Reply

  33. DAWN SCHMIDT says

    My table is definitely not magazine worthy, I do try to make it look festive with lots of homemade items and kid friendly things

    Reply

  36. Rachel Cooks says

    I like to have a sit down dinner for Thanksgiving. Nothing fancy–paper napkins, all the plates and silverware I can come up with. I love it when grace has been said, every dish has been passed, and there’s this moment of silence as everyone just kind of digs in and enjoys, their mouths too full to talk.

    Reply

  37. tammigirl says

    Our table is definitely decorated by personalities! And it’s FULLY decorated! What a lovely way of putting it. 🙂

    Reply

  38. Rachael S says

    We eat at my mother’s and she has a vast collection of Fiesta Ware. Some years all the colors of each setting match, and some years we mix it up, but the result is always incredibly colorful.

    Reply

  39. Jessie C. says

    My table is decorated by the personalities of the people who sit around it. Silverware plus orange and gray theme.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

    Reply

  41. Mami2jcn says

    This year the kids are making little Native American and Pilgrim people out of paper towel rolls and construction paper to decorate our table. I think the grandparents will say it’s very cute.

    Reply

  43. Julie Wood says

    I always decorate my table. I usually use my nice Orange tablecloth and put out my green plates with my green napkins and regular silverware with my orange goblets. For my centerpiece I put out my Cornucopia.

    Reply

  47. Kelly D says

    My table is decorated more for the personalities of the people around it, we like pumpkin and leaf themed decorations and festive colors.

    Reply

  61. Anne says

    Thanksgiving at our house is most certainly not magazine worthy–hardly any of the tableware and serving pieces match, and none of it is fancy-schmancy. But the food is good and homey, and we’re happy. It’s just the two of us, so it’s hard to say that we’re decorating the place with our personalities (love the concept, though!), but we enjoy our special day and the special meal. And the special dessert, too; can’t forget the dessert!

    Reply

  62. Anne says

    I shared your beautiful Sweet Potato Rolls (which I hope to make soon) and the JCPenney promotion on Twitter; here’s the link:
    https://twitter.com/NotherAnneOther/status/538040750219755522
    Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

    Reply

  73. debbie says

    No magazine would ever feature my table! But it is greatly filled with love, wonderful family and friends, and my very best attempt at delicious food.

    Reply

  81. angie says

    Neither, actually! LOL It was simple. The food, our only set of plates, our only set of silverware, mixed cloth napkins, our only set of wine glasses, and a paper fold out turkey in the center! LOL

    Reply

  85. Betty C says

    We really don’t pay much attention to how the table looks. We are usually too busy talking with family we haven’t seen for a while and enjoying good food. We don’t do any special table decorations.

    Reply

  87. Kimberley Meier says

    Our holiday tables are always beautiful thanks to my mom. She’s amazingly crafty and every year she out does herself. Though beautiful enough to be in a magazine it’s still homey and intimate enough to fit our relaxed family.

    Reply

  89. Cori Westphal says

    I’m one of those people who just uses the plate settings we use everyday. Nothing special!

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

    Reply

  92. Wendy says

    I was wondering, have you ever tried to make these rolls the day before and refrigerate them? Or do you have to make them the day you plan to serve them?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] I have five kids, four of whom will only eat sweet potatoes when they come in the form of Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls, fries, or chips and one of whom won’t touch them under any circumstances. I won’t […]

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