Potato Bread Rolls

I must have watched the Toy Story movies a bazillion times.  And I must have listened to it from another room a bazillion more times.  When my youngest son was two years old, he was besotted with the franchise and his favourite character was Buzz Lightyear (go figure).  My little two year old's mantra was "affinity and beyond" (because he couldn't say infinity).  We had ALL the merchandise. We had the movies on CD (back in the day), on a constant loop.  My house resembled Andy's bedroom with all the toy Woody's, Buzz's, Jessie's, Bullseye's, Slinky's, Rex's, Hamm's, Bo Peep's and Etch A Sketch's cluttering every flat surface.  But I've always had a soft spot for Mr Potato Head.  He is moody, cranky and often sarcastic, but underneath that crispy potato skin, he's just one big dollop of mashed potato.

Potato Bread Rolls

slightly adapted from here

Makes 8

120g Desiree potato, left whole, peel on and scrubbed clean

185ml milk, at room temperature

55g caster sugar

1 sachet dried yeast

500g baker's flour

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

75g unsalted butter, at room temperature and diced

Olive oil for shaping the dough

Put the potato into a small saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Cook for about 20 minutes, until tender.  Drain and leave to cool.  When cool enough to handle, peel and push it through a ricer (or mash) back into the dry saucepan.  Add the milk and return the pan to a medium-low heat.  Whisk continuously for about 2 - 3 minutes until smooth and warm.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the sugar, yeast and potato puree.  Mix briefly to blend, then stop the mixer and leave to rest for 5 - 7 minutes, until foamy.  Add the flour, egg, egg yolk and salt and mix on low speed for 5 minutes.  Continue mixing while you add the butter one piece at a time.  Mix for a further 5 minutes.  The dough will be soft and smooth.  Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C.  Line two baking sheets with baking paper.  Sprinkle the paper with flour and set aside.

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (about 120g each).  Rub a little olive oil into your palms and  roll each portion into a ball.  Place the balls on the baking sheets, 4 to a baking sheet.  Cover with a clean cloth and set the trays in a warm spot for about an hour.  The balls should puff up.

Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for a further 5 - 7 minutes until baked through and golden brown.