Easy Sweet Potato Rolls – Instant pot proofing method

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These soft, fluffy, buttery, easy sweet potato rolls are perfect on your dinner table for Thanksgiving or Halloween spread, or Christmas dinner. Serve this warm with your favorite compound butter. You need not knead this as you do for bread. Please read this till the end of the notes as I have given some tips for vegan and storing tips.

Best Sweet Potato Rolls

Recently I made Instant pot sweet potatoes and I totally loved how it turned. Apart from using those sweet potatoes in making sweet potato roti, I also used it to make these rolls. I have been making eggless dinner rolls for quite some time now but when I tried these I blamed myself for not trying it earlier.

The crust is crisp and the inside is so soft and fluffy with the hint of sweetness from sweet potato. It also has a nice orange color because of the addition of the sweet potato. Once you try these rolls, I’m sure you can’t stop making them. Regardless of the popular belief that working with yeast is scary, these rolls are so easy to make and even beginners can do magic with this recipe.

You also want to try Instant pot Beetroot swirl Bread.

How to make Instant pot Sweet Potato Rolls

Ingredients Used

Sweet Potato  – I used medium-sized potatoes when mashed. 1 Cup mashed sweet potato.

Yeast – I used Instant yeast which you can add directly to the flour and mix. You can also use active dry yeast which you need to activate by adding warm water and sugar before adding it to the flour mixture. 

Flour – Use all-purpose flour or a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The quantity of the flour we use differs according to the quality of the flour. Though it may not differ much. Just from ¼ to ½ cup.

Egg – Use eggs at room temperature.

Sugar – I used granulated white sugar but you can also use honey as in the original recipe. If using Honey, use ¼ cup of honey.

Milk – I used whole milk instead of buttermilk in the original recipe. You can either use buttermilk or whole milk. The milk should be warm and not too hot. Too hot milk would kill the yeast.

A short video

How to make dough for sweet potato dinner rolls?

You don’t need any fancy stand mixer to make the dough for these rolls. I used my food processor with a dough blade for the initial mix and then used my hands to knead it to a smooth dough. I also tried only using my hands to make the dough. Either way, the rolls come out amazing.

Take a mashed sweet potato, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt, warm milk, and 2 cups of flour in the food processor with a dough blade. Pulse it until all ingredients mix. Then add flour little by little till it forms a thick dough. Add butter and mix again.

Now transfer the dough to the floured kitchen countertop or kneading board. Add 1 tbsp of flour and continue to knead till it forms a non sticky, smooth dough. Do not add too much flour.

How to proof the dough in an Instant pot?

Proofing the dough on the countertop can be done for this recipe. But as the fall weather creeps in, Instant pot comes to the rescue for easier proofing and we don’t have to wait for hours for the dough to proof.

Grease the inner pot with butter or oil. Place the dough inside the stainless steel pot. Close the instant pot with a glass lid or instant pot lid. Anyway, the pressure is not going to build up. So you need not worry about the vent. Switch on the Instant pot and press the yogurt button. Set the timer to 30 minutes and press start. After 30 minutes, the dough would have risen to double. Punch down the dough and transfer it to a floured countertop.

Love Instant pot recipes? Do not forget to check out our Instant pot Recipes.

How to make rolls and second proofing?

After the first proofing, transfer the dinner rolls dough to the floured countertop. Divide it into two half. Roll each half into a log and cut it into 6 equal parts so that it makes 12 dinner rolls. Take each roll and tuck the ends of the dough to the bottom side. Then roll it over the counter gently to make smooth round balls.

 Repeat this with all other and place these rolls in the 9 * 13 baking pan. Cover it with a cling sheet or kitchen towel and let it proof for 35 minutes or until the dough is doubled. Usually, it happens in 35 minutes. If the room temperature is low due to the weather, it may take 40 to 45 minutes to double. 

Pro tip – Do not proof the dough for more than 45 minutes. If over-proofed, then it may taste like yeast and it will not be fluffy. Because the risen dough will flat if over-proofed.

How to bake sweet potato dinner rolls?

After the second proofing is done, preheat the oven to 400 Deg F. Brush the roll with milk. This will give the beautiful golden top. Bake the sweet potato dinner rolls in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes.

 Check the rolls in 15 minutes, if it has not golden top bake for 2 to 3 more minutes as needed. Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let the rolls sit in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool down. Brush butter over the hot dinner rolls. I highly recommend doing this. Smearing butter over hot rolls enhances the flavor and aroma of the dinner rolls.

Can I proof the dough without an Instant pot?

Absolutely yes. For the first proofing if you don’t have the Instant pot, grease a bowl with oil or butter and place the dough. Cover it with a cling sheet or kitchen towel and proof it for 1 hour or until it doubles. 

What if my dough didn’t rise?

If your dough didn’t rise even after 1 hour then yeast plays a role in it. Check if your yeast is active or dead. For this, add warm water to a tsp of yeast in a bowl. If the yeast bubbles up, the yeast is active. If it doesn’t, then the yeast died. You have to get a new batch of yeast. Always while baking using yeast, do this step to check your yeast.

How can I serve Sweet potato rolls?

The sweet potato rolls taste best with both sweet or savory. You can serve with any sweet compound butter like honey butter or with turkey for Thanksgiving.

How to store sweet potato dinner rolls?

Once baked, completely cool down and cover with cling film. You can store in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for months. While serving, reheat the rolls in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes at 350 Deg F.

Other sweet potato recipes in this space

Vegan Chocolate pudding

Air fried Sweet potato fries

Sweet potato roti

Tools I recommend

Baking Pan

Food Processor

Spatula

Cling Sheet

Instant pot

Want more dinner recipes?

Palak Paratha

Aloo Gobi Curry

Carrot Potato Masala

Palak Paneer

Jeera Rice

Also do not forget to check our Breakfast and dinner meal plan for a week.

Easy Sweet Potato Rolls recipe with stepwise instructions

1 Cup = 240 ml  1 Tbsp = 15 gms  1 Tsp = 5gms

Recipe adapted from – Here

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Puree – 1 Cup (275 grams)

All-purpose flour – 4 to 4 ½ Cups

Milk – 1 Cup (Warm)

Eggs – 2 Large Room temperature

Unsalted butter – 4 Tablespoons ( Room Temperature)

Yeast – 2 ¼ Teaspoons (I used instant yeast) If using active dry yeast see notes

Salt – 1 ½ Teaspoon

Sugar – ¼ Cups

To brush

Milk – 1 Teaspoon

To smear

Unsalted butter – 1 Teaspoon

Method

Preparing the dough

• Take a mashed sweet potato, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt, warm milk, and 2 cups of flour in the food processor with a dough blade.
• Pulse it until all ingredients mix. Then add flour little by little till it forms a thick dough. Add butter and mix again.
• Now transfer the dough to the floured kitchen countertop or kneading board.
•  Add 1 tbsp of flour and continue to slightly knead till it forms a non-sticky, smooth dough.

First Proof in Instant pot

• Grease the inner pot with butter or oil. Place the dough inside the stainless steel pot. 
• Close the instant pot with a glass lid or instant pot lid.
•  Anyway, the pressure is not going to build up. So you need not worry about the vent. 
• Switch on the Instant pot and press the yogurt button. Set the timer to 30 minutes and press start. 
• After 30 minutes, the dough would have risen to double.
• Punch down the dough and transfer it to a floured countertop.

Roll and second proof

• After the first proofing, transfer the dinner rolls dough to the floured countertop.
•  Divide it into two halves. Roll each half into a log and cut it into 6 equal parts so that it makes 12 dinner rolls. 
• Take each roll and tuck the ends of the dough to the bottom side. Then roll it over the counter gently to make smooth round balls.
•  Repeat this with all other and place these rolls in the 9 * 13 baking pan.
•  Cover it with a cling sheet or kitchen towel and let it proof for 35 minutes or until the dough is doubled. 
• Usually, it happens in 35 minutes. If the room temperature is low due to the weather, it may take 40 to 45 minutes to double.

Bake

• After the second proofing is done, preheat the oven to 400 Deg F. 
• Brush the roll with milk. This will give the beautiful golden top.
•  Bake the sweet potato dinner rolls in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes.
•  Check the rolls in 15 minutes, if it has not golden top bake for 2 to 3 more minutes as needed.
•  Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let the rolls sit in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool down.
•  Brush butter over the hot dinner rolls.

Notes

1. Instead of sweet potatoes, you can also use pumpkin or butternut squash puree to make these buns.
2. The quantity of flour depends on the quality of the flour you use. If you use unbleached all-purpose flour, you may end up using more than mentioned in this recipe.
3. I highly recommend smearing unsalted butter over the warm dinner rolls to enhance the flavor and aroma. Do not skip this part.
4. If you don’t prefer to use eggs, you can use 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 Tablespoons of water in the place of 1 egg.
5. To make it vegan, use vegan butter and use almond milk or coconut milk.
6. You can also sprinkle granulated sugar or sea salt over the rolls just before baking. I added granulated sugar.
7. If you are using active dry yeast, first mix 1/4 cup warm milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit for 5 to minutes till it becomes frothy. Then pour this yeast mixture into other ingredients and continue the process.

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