These potato buns have a soft texture and are a wonderful for all kinds of sandwiches or as a base for homemade hamburgers. The addition of potatoes give the dough an amazing and unique fluffiness.
How to make potato buns from scratch?
Making potato buns from scratch is way easier than you think. Living in Germany it was easy to just go to the bakery around the corner to buy fresh, delicious potato bread and potato rolls. But since moving to the U.S. this kind of easy fix for my cravings was not available anymore.
I really miss the possibility to just buy a fresh loaf of potato bread and the store bought variations are just not the same. My husband loves potato buns for burgers so I started to make all kinds of breads and rolls with the addition of potatoes from scratch. In case you are looking for a potato bread recipe, you can find one of my favorite recipes here: Rustic German Potato Bread.
How are Potato Buns called in German?
Potato Buns are called "Kartoffelbrötchen". "Kartoffel" is the German word for potato and "Brötchen" is the German word for bun and roll.
How to pronounce "Brötchen"?
Listen to this audio file to hear how to say "Brötchen" in German.
How to make German Potato Buns Video Tutorial
Authentic German Potato Rolls Recipe
Recipe
Potato Buns
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 medium potatoes cooked and mashed (approx. 8 oz.)
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tsp. sugar
- ½ cup milk warm
- ½ cup water warm
- 1 stick butter soft
- 2 tsp. dry yeast
- 2 tsp. Kosher salt
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes, mash, and set aside to cool down.
- Add water, sugar, and yeast to the warm milk, stir well and set aside.
- Add flour and salt to your stand mixer bowl and blend briefly.
- Add egg yolks, cooled down mashed potatoes and the yeast milk. Blend on low for about a minute and then for another 2 minutes on medium speed until it pulls slightly from the bowl.
- Add the soft butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time, and continue mixing for another 3 minutes or until the butter is fully incorporated.
- The dough will be soft and tacky. Use a spatula to shape kind of a ball or spray your hands with some cooking oil and shape it with your hands.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for two hours or until it has doubled in size.
- Sprinkle the dough with flour and transfer the dough onto a floured work surface.
- Divide into 8 to 10 equal pieces and shape into bread rolls.
- Place the buns onto a with parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving some space between each roll.
- Dust the buns with some flour and cover them with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
- Let rise for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360 F.
- Bake at 360 Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Tips for the Best Potato Buns
If you wonder, why I choose to add soft butter at the end of the recipe instead of melting it at the beginning in the warm milk here is a short explanation.
If you add the butter early on, it will inhibit gluten development. If you are making something like a soft yeast bread “Hefezopf”, adding the butter early on will yield a soft pastry like texture, which is perfect for those kinds of breads. But if you want a soft but bouncy bread texture then you should add the butter at the last ingredient.
Son Mee Im says
Awesome!
Thank you for the recipe.
I love it.
Angela Schofield says
Thank you for giving the recipe a try.
Renee says
Can these be made a day in advance or do they harden?
Angela Schofield says
You can make them a day ahead, they will keep moist for a few days. Guten Appetit!
ALthea says
Angela, this is the Potato Bun recipe I have been looking for. A big THANK YOU for a great tasting recipe.
Angela Schofield says
That is wonderful, I am happy you found what you were looking for. I love these buns, I hope you will too!
Althea says
In the recipe (and in your youtube video) it says to PREHEAT the oven to 360 degrees F. In the directions is says to BAKE at 350 degrees F. So am I to assume that I am to turn down the heat to 350 degrees F to bake or is this a typo and I am to bake at 360 degrees F?
Angela Schofield says
I appologize for the typo, it is 360F.
Althea says
5+ Stars. I just took these out of the oven and boy was I impressed!! Very, very soft and delicious. YUM. Also, as a side note, I live at high altitude, 4500 feet, and I made NO changes to the recipe nor the ingredients. GREAT youtube video that was easy to follow along. Thanks Angela for a wonderful recipe.
Angela Schofield says
Thank you so much, Althea, for giving the recipe a chance and taking the time to comment. It is a super helpful tip to know that you did not needed to adjust the measurements in high altitude. I am so glad you liked the buns, they are one of my favs.