Soft and buttery, these potato rolls are a genius use of leftover baked potatoes and make the most amazing dinner rolls or hamburger buns.

Potato Rolls Make Great Hamburger or Sandwich Buns and Dinner Rolls
Hamburgers served on a buttery toasted homemade potato bun are undeniably delicious. But, so are potato dinner rolls served alongside... well, everything else. This recipe makes enough dough for 12 hamburger buns OR 12 large dinner rolls. It's a two-for-one deal.
These buns are a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes
Ok, so leftover baked potatoes get eaten pretty fast around here. It's rare that I'm staring into my refrigerator thinking, I wonder what I can do with those baked potatoes that no one is eating? As such, leftover baked potatoes are more of a planned thing for me. As in, make so many that having a few left over is at least somewhat likely.
But, should you ever find yourself with baked potatoes that you don't know what to do with... Well, now you do.
If your house is like mine, and baked potatoes tend to get eaten quickly, make a few extra and hide them in the back of the fridge so you can make potato rolls later in the week.
Aside from baking the potatoes, potato rolls only take about 2 hours, start to finish.
Think about that. In just two hours, you could be eating homemade bread, fresh from your oven. Well, four if you have to bake the potatoes first. Even still, baking potato rolls is a simple way to add some comfort food to your day. And what day doesn't deserve that?
More popular bread recipes:
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Overnight Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Simple Homemade White Bread
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Overnight Homemade Sticky Buns
- Simple Whole Wheat Bread
- Cinnamon Bread
📖 Recipe
Potato Rolls
Soft and buttery, these potato rolls are a genius use of leftover baked potatoes and make the most amazing dinner rolls or hamburger buns.
Ingredients
- 2 medium Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes
- 1 cup milk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 3 ½ - 4 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing
- 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse ground sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
BAKE THE POTATOES:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash potatoes thoroughly in cold water and dry. Poke each potato all over with a sharp knife, about 8-12 times. Drizzle each potato with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil and rub the oil over the potato to coat completely. Lay the potatoes on a baking sheet and cook for about 1 hour, until a fork poked into one of the potatoes goes in easily. Cool completely before preceding with the recipe.
MAKE THE DOUGH:
- Add the milk, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer and stir to combine. Let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Scrape the the cooled potato flesh out of their skins into the bowl along with the eggs, butter, and 1 ½ cups of the flour. Beat with the paddle attachment on high speed for about 2 minutes to break up the potatoes and incorporate them into the batter.
- Remove the paddle attachment and replace it with the dough hook. Add 2 more cups of flour to the dough and knead on low to incorporate. Continue to knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, adding enough additional flour, about ¼ cup at a time, to create a soft, tacky dough that clears the sides of the bowl, but sticks slightly to the bottom. Once enough flour has been added to create a smooth, cohesive dough, sprinkle in the salt and continue to knead for at least 1 minute longer to incorporate.
- Brush a large bowl with butter, or spray with non-stick spray. Turn the dough out into the bowl and cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has also been brushed with butter or sprayed with non-stick spray. Let sit until it doubles in bulk, about 45 minutes.
TO SHAPE DOUGH INTO HAMBURGER BUNS:
- Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by pulling your thumbs down over the sides of the dough and pinching the dough together at the bottom. Lay 6 balls of dough on each baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Flatten each into a disk of dough that's roughly 3 inches in diameter.
- Brush the rolls with 4 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle each with a bit of salt. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
TO SHAPE DOUGH INTO DINNER ROLLS:
- Coat a 9x13 baking dish with melted butter or spray with non-stick spray.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by pulling your thumbs down over the sides of the dough and pinching the dough together at the bottom.
- Place the balls of dough into the pan. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until the rolls have doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
BAKE THE POTATO ROLLS:
- While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the rolls have risen, bake hamburger buns for 16-18 minutes and dinner rolls for 20-25 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a meat thermometer into the bottom of a hamburger bun or the center of the dinner rolls. The temperature should register at at least 190 degrees.
- If using as hamburger buns, allow the rolls to cool completely before slicing. If serving as dinner rolls, allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
NOTE: The tops of the rolls will get quite brown due to the high butter content. If you're concerned that they are getting too brown, cover the rolls loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil for the last few minutes of baking.
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Allison says
Do you have an estimate of how much extra flour you’ve had to add? I had to add about a cup, which seems like a lot. I’ve made a lot of bread and I don’t usually have to add that much extra, so just curious if that was the expected amount. (In case it helps: I had the A/C on, so I feel reasonably confident that my kitchen was not too humid).
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! The potatoes themselves can really affect the moisture content of the dough. It can also vary quite a bit from batch to batch. Just add as much flour as necessary to get the dough to come together - sometimes you might need very little extra flour and some times you might need quite a bit. How did the rolls come out for you?
Ruth Meaney says
I am obsessed with cookbooks too!!!!!!!!!!! I would love to see your collection! Even just those few you showed us look awesome 😀
And those bread rolls look AMAZING!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Thank you Ruth! It's nice to meet another cookbook addict! 🙂 What are your favorites right now?
Ruth Meaney says
I got a beautiful one by Anna Jones called "A Modern Way To Cook" plus I am a huge Nigel Slater fan (swoon!). There are so many that I'd love to buy though, but I have discovered I can borrow them from the library for free!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Libraries are a beautiful thing, aren't they? I love Nigel Slater too. But, I'm not familiar with A Modern Way to Cook. Going to have to check that out! Until then, happy cooking! And baking! xoxo