How to Make Silky Smooth Potato Buns

As soon as I posted my potato sandwich loaf recipe people in the comments section asked me if that recipe would work for individual buns. I love trying different variations of the same basic recipe because nothing is ever perfect and something different can always be made.

These potato buns will give my scalded burger buns a run for their money. If you asked me to choose between scalding and using potatoes, I would not be able to make up my mind. They’re both amazing methods and they produce slightly different results.

Using potatoes alongside egg yolk makes the crumb extremely soft and pillowy. It is not only the texture that changes but also the colour of the crumb which becomes nice and yellow almost butter-like.

The keeping quality is also great. These things will stay super soft even after 24 hours. I’d suggest trying both the scalded and potato versions to see which one you like best.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

300g (10.6oz) white bread flour

100g (3.5oz) boiled mashed potato

30g (1oz) butter

10g (0.35oz) honey

1 egg yolk

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.12oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast

6g (0.21oz) salt

110g (3.9oz) potato water

For glazing & topping –

1 egg white

Sesame seeds

For the omelette sandwich –

4 eggs

50g (1.75oz) bell pepper, finely sliced

30g (1oz) sliced spring onions

5g (0.17oz) scootch bonnet chilli, chopped

30g (1oz) grated carrot

10g (0.35oz) olive oil

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Chili jam for spreading onto the bread.

To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

Method

1. Cook the potatoes. Peel and cut the potatoes in large chunks. Boil for around 25 minutes or until completely soft. Drain and mash the potato and leave to cool down. Reserve the cooking water and leave it to cool down too.
2. Make the dough once the water and potatoes have cooled down. In a large bowl combine the potato water, yeast, salt, honey, egg yolk, melted butter, and mashed potato. Mix well to dissolve the salt and yeast.
3. Add the flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 23C (73F).
4. Cover and ferment for 40 minutes.
5. Fold.
6. Ferment for 40 minutes.
7. Divide into 5 pieces and pre-shape. Rest for 15 minutes.
8. Final shaping. Place the dough balls on a non-stick paper lined baking tray.
9. Final proof 1 hour.
10. Brush the dough balls with egg white and top with sesame seeds.
11. Bake at 160C (320F) fan on for 25 minutes.