Sweet Potato Yeast Bread

Christmas week proper and the whole city seemed to take a collective exhale. I love the particular quality of a week when nothing is required — when days can be spent reading and cooking and watching movies and sitting in the yard in the mild Louisiana winter, doing nothing with full intention. Daddy called this "productive rest." I called it one of the better inventions of the calendar year.

I spent three days baking. This was not entirely voluntary — Mama had agreed to provide desserts for the church reception after Sunday service and had somewhat overcommitted without informing me, which she does every year and which I help her meet every year. I made: two dozen ginger cookies, a batch of pralines, a rum cake from scratch, and a lemon icebox pie. The rum cake took all of Saturday afternoon and came out better than last year's version. The lemon icebox pie came together in thirty minutes and was startlingly good for the time investment — the whipped cream folding into the condensed milk filling made it light and tart and cold and I ate a test slice at midnight standing in the kitchen in my pajamas like someone who had earned it, because I had.

Christmas Eve was MawMaw Shirley's domain: she does a Christmas Eve supper that is the meal I would choose if asked for my last meal. Roast beef glazed with her brown sugar and mustard mixture, rice dressing with chicken giblets and herbs, greens cooked down with smoked meat, sweet potato casserole, and her scratch dinner rolls that are soft and buttery and entirely worth the two hours they require.

I helped her roll the dinner rolls that afternoon, standing at her counter, the two of us working in quiet synchronized rhythm while Christmas music played from a small radio on the counter. She said, "You're getting faster with dough." I said I had been practicing. She said, "Good hands know their way." I thought about that all through dinner. Good hands know their way. That is something I want to be true of me.

Standing at MawMaw Shirley’s counter that Christmas Eve afternoon, working the dough in quiet rhythm while carols drifted from the little radio, I thought about what it means to have good hands — hands that remember, that know their way. These sweet potato yeast rolls carry that same spirit: they take time, they ask something of you, and they come back soft and warm and entirely worth it. If you want to bring a little of that Christmas Eve magic to your own table, this is the recipe to start with.

Prep Time: 30 minutes + 1 hr 30 min rise | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: ~2 hours 25 minutes | Servings: 16 rolls

Ingredients

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (from about 1 medium sweet potato, roasted or boiled)
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
3/4 cup warm whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

Instructions

Proof the yeast. Combine warm water and sugar in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let stand 5–10 minutes until foamy and fragrant.
Mix the wet ingredients. Add the mashed sweet potato, warm milk, softened butter, salt, and beaten egg to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine into a rough, cohesive mixture.
Build the dough. Add flour one cup at a time, stirring between additions, until a soft dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be tacky but not sticky — about 3 1/2 cups total.
Knead. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Good hands know their way: the dough is ready when it springs back slowly when pressed.
First rise. Place dough in a lightly buttered bowl, turn to coat, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Shape the rolls. Punch down the dough and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball and arrange in a buttered 9x13-inch baking pan, leaving a little space between each roll.
Second rise. Cover loosely and let rise 30 minutes, until rolls are puffed and touching.
Bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls for 22–25 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through. An instant-read thermometer should read 190°F in the center.
Finish. Remove from oven and brush immediately with melted butter. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet Potato Yeast Bread — The Rolls That Know Their Way Home