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{This post is sponsored by AncestryDNA. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!!}
Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls. Is there anything better?! These rolls are easy, extra soft, buttery, doughy, and perfect. Made using a mix of whole wheat flour, mashed potatoes, salted butter, and eggs, this recipe takes the classic dinner roll and kicks it up a notch – you will LOVE them!
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I have such a fun Tuesday post to share with you guys today!
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, than you know I recently took an AncestryDNA test to learn a little more about my ancestry and discover the regions from which my family has come. Before taking my test, I knew that I had some Irish in me and possibly some roots from elsewhere in Europe, but that’s pretty much it…
Well, I received my results last week and found out I’m about 45% Irish! The rest is a mix of Eastern European, Scandinavian, and a little British. So…am I shocked by my results? No, not really, but it was still really fun. I was a little surprised that I do indeed have so much Irish in me, since my dad is only partly Irish….but his grandmother did come over from Ireland at 17, and he has a great grandparent that came over when they were young as well.
I’ve had a lot of fun looking through my results and seeing all the regions my ancestors have come from! Of course it’s also brought up a lot more questions. Which is good because these are questions we need to ask before my grandparents pass away. So we will, as it would be nice to pinpoint exactly who it was that came from each region. My parents even decided to have their DNA tested. Maybe my mother has some Irish in her as well.
After reaffirming that I’m mostly Irish, I became inspired to share an Irish influenced recipe. I did lots of searching around over the internet, and while I found a lot of Irish stews, soda bread, and stout cupcakes, I really wanted to share a recipe that’s great for every day.
Enter these pull-apart potato rolls that can be made any day of the week, and any time of the year.
The details.
It’s no secret that the Irish are known for their potatoes, so incorporating them into dinner rolls is an obvious must. A lot of true Irish potato roll recipes include cheddar cheese, but I actually wanted a simpler roll, so I chose to omit the cheese and keep these rolls soft and buttery.
These rolls are a simple mix of water, yeast, eggs, flour, mashed potatoes, and butter. Simply mix up the dough, let it rise, and then form the dough into rolls. Then let the dough rise one more time, and bake until they are golden and perfect.
Tip: As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, I like to brush them with a little browned rosemary butter.
SO GOOD, and best eaten warm, fresh out of the oven. Trust me, soft doughy perfection!
These are so simple to make, but yet still so delicious. Perfect for everything from Sunday night dinner, to a small dinner party. And yes, they’d be great for Thanksgiving too…
Also! if you happen to have leftover mashed potatoes lying around, this is definitely a recipe you need to be making.
I had so much fun creating these easy rolls and learning more about my heritage.
If you too are interested in finding out more about your ancestry, I loved my experience with AncestryDNA . The test is easy, quick, and totally painless. Plus, they share lots of fun data about your ethnicity and even how far your DNA dates back too. For example, I discovered that my family settled in the northeastern states all the way back in the 1700’s.
Kind of cool right?!
And with that, I think I am heading back to the kitchen to bake more dinner rolls, because this is one of those recipes that just becomes a staple in the kitchen.
These are rolls addictingly good. Just warning you now, stopping with just one roll is very, very hard and takes serious self-control.
If you make these pull apart whole wheat potato rolls, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plain mashed potatoes*
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat or whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted + 2 tablespoons for brushing
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, eggs, potatoes, flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. 2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.3. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter. 4. Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal size dough balls. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Cover the pan, and let the rolls rise for about 30-45 minutes, until they’re puffy. Alternately, you can place the pan in the fridge to rise overnight.5. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re golden brown on top.6. Meanwhile, melt together the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the rosemary until the butter is lightly browned. 7. Remove the rolls from the oven, and brush with the melted rosemary butter, sprinkle with salt, if desired. Pull them apart to serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
{This post is sponsored by AncestryDNA . Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!!}
Delish! The only change I made was swapping the flours : 3cups (hard red) whole wheat & 1cup white whole wheat. So fluffy and tasty.
Hey Jen,
I appreciate you making this recipe and taking the time to comment, so glad it was a winner!
Have a great weekend!
Hi wonder if I could make this in a load pan and if so should I half the recipe? Baking temp and tike suggest?
Hi Hien,
Yes, if you want to make in a loaf pan you will want to cut the recipe in half and then keep the bake time and temp the same. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi, thank you for this recipe. I accidentally mashed my potatoes using a food processor which resulted in gluey potatoes. Can I incorporate these into these rolls?? Also can I sub gf flour??
Thank you
Hi there! I haven’t ever subbed GF flour before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
I made these for a a dinner party with some friends and, WOW, they were a great hit. My husband literally said they were the best rolls he’s ever had and my friend asked for the recipe. I made this along with your Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dates and Halloumi, and also your Chocolate Bourbon Chai Latte Cupcakes. All were a fantastic hit!! I’ve just found your site and have tried so many of your recipes. Love them all. 😍
Hey Rhonda,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend!❄️
Can I use bread flour for this recipe
Hey there,
Sure, that will work well for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
These sounded delicious in theory, but wish I would have read the comments before baking. I agree with other commenters that these need more salt; I used salted butter + some extra, but it was not near enough. Left the rolls tasking yeasty and a bit bland. I messed up timing, so I actually froze the rolls prior to the second and baked later. I thawed overnight in the fridge then set on top of the oven while it pre-heated for ~30 min.
These also took ~35min to bake, so don’t fear if they seem to be baking slowly.
Good concept but make some tweaks!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xTieghan
Wondering if these would be good for burger buns? Or if there’s another recipe you’d recommend for that purpose?
Hey Shanley,
Sure, these would be great to use as a burger bun! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Love these and have made them a couple of times. Do the baking time/instructions change if you refrigerate the rolls before baking? Do they need to warm up before baking? Thanks!
Hey Judith,
I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe! If you want to bake after refrigeration, you need to let them warm bake to room temp but you can then follow the instructions as is. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious! Soft, fluffy, wonderful. The finished texture is more crumbly than I would like, so next time I make these I’m going to knead for about ten minutes before letting it rest so I can develop some gluten.
Hey Moony,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Would you recommend making these w sweet potatoes??
Hey Sydney,
So sorry I have not tested this. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi!
I do not have instant yeast…only the kind you have to activate with water. Can I activate the yeast with the warm water before adding it to the mixer?
Hey Anya,
Yes, that works just fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi!! Making these for an early thanksgiving! 🙂 can I use all all purpose flour instead of a mix of the all purpose and wheat? Thank you!!
Hey Maresa,
Yes, that is fine to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Thanks for this recipe Tieghan. It was lovely and the texture was amazing., only thing ..I just wasn’t getting the potato flavour much. Do you reckon the type of potatoes matter.
Hey Rheena,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! These don’t have a super strong potato flavor, but I love using Yukon Gold potatoes. I hope this helps! xTieghan
We made these today and they were sensational. Lovely flavour, soft and light. They rose well when baked. We are now going to do a little experiment to see how some of these are tomorrow as well as freeze some for later and see how they go when defrosted.
Amazing! I am so glad these rolls turned out so well for you Ali! Thank you so much! xTieghan