I think I need bigger bowls.
Actually, wait—maybe I need a bigger brain. The other night, around midnight, I followed my usual routine: removed my contacts to sterilize them, washed my face, brushed my teeth, applied moisturizer…and then, somehow, put the contacts back in. For sleeping.
If you use a disinfecting solution that requires the lenses to sit for several hours, you know they shouldn’t touch your eyes for at least six hours after being in that solution. You can imagine how that went. I spent the next few minutes in pain, frantically prying my eyelids open and scraping the contacts out while my husband was out of town and no one could help.
It felt like that surreal morning when you get ready, leave the house, and suddenly realize the clock says 1:54 AM. Except I hadn’t been drinking or sleeping—just very, very absent-minded. I couldn’t fall asleep because my eyes were burning, and all I could do was blink furiously. For two days afterward my eyes looked like I’d been up to something questionable all day.
By 3 AM I was starving and too uncomfortable to sleep, so I went downstairs and sank my teeth into one of these soft, pillowy rolls. I’d made them a few days earlier and they still tasted fresh. The warm roll soothed me enough to finally fall asleep, though by dawn I wanted nothing more than to dunk my head in ice.
Even though I stuffed too much dough into a small bowl, watching it rise still makes me giddy. When it spills over the container and the kitchen fills with that yeasty, comforting scent, it’s irresistible. I’m not usually a bread person — I’ll pick cheesecake first — but I couldn’t stop eating these. We served them with chicken chili, slathered them with butter, drizzled honey on top, and kept going until they were gone. They were like little sweet potato pillows.
Sweet Potato and Honey Dinner Rolls
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Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled (about 12 ounces)
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup warm water, about 110°F
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 4 teaspoons sea salt
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
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Peel the sweet potato (about 12 ounces), cut into chunks, place in a pot with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook until fork-tender, about 20–25 minutes. Drain and mash.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine warm water, yeast, 2 tablespoons honey, and olive oil. Stir and let sit until foamy, about 15 minutes.
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Once foamy, add the mashed sweet potato, remaining honey, 4 tablespoons melted butter, buttermilk, and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add flour until a sticky dough forms, then knead with the dough hook for 2–3 minutes. Brush a large bowl with melted butter, place the dough inside, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for about 2 hours.
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Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead briefly until smooth, then divide in half. Roll each portion into a long rope, cut into pieces of about 2 ounces, and shape into rolls. Arrange them in a greased 9×13 baking dish (about 15 per pan if using two pans). At this stage you can freeze the dough for up to 2 months, or proceed to the next rise: cover and let the rolls rise in a warm place for 30–45 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the rolls with the beaten egg and bake 20–25 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. If baking two pans at once, swap the rack positions halfway through. Let cool a few minutes, then serve warm with butter and honey.
Notes
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I appreciate you so much!
You can eat all that butter in that bowl there. Because I said so.