I made these sweet potato buns with the last of the veg from our CSA. They’re a lovely rosy color, have a crisp crust and a fine crumb. I added a little cardamom and paprika, so they have a subtle sweet/smoky flavor that seems to go with their color. Yesterday was a day of freezing dampness, and it was nice to have a fresh-baked bun at the end of it.

Good with black bean burgers!

Here’s Mikey Dread’s Hot Cross Bun to listen to as you wait for the dough to rise.

2 1/2 (+ about 1/2 cup) flour
1 cup mashed sweet potato. (smallish potatoes, cubed and boiled until just soft, then mashed with a fork or potato masher)
1 1/2 t. yeast
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. cardamom, toasted and ground
3 T olive oil
1 egg

Mix the yeast, sugar, salt and warm water together and leave for about ten minutes till it’s quite foamy.

In a large bowl mix the flour, paprika, cardamom. Make a well in the center and add the egg, the oil, the mashed sweet potato, & the yeast mixture. Stir well, pulling it into a ball. It should be smooth, soft and a little sticky.

Add more flour as necessary to make it handleable, and knead for about 7 miutes till it’s smooth and elastic.

Put a drizzle of olive oil in a bowl, and toss in the lump of dough, turning to coat all sides.

Leave in a warm place for a couple of hours to double in bulk

PUNCH IT DOWN!

Leave it to rise for about 1 more hour.

PUNCH IT DOWN!

Form 8 evenly sized balls, tucking the ends under so it’s nice and smooth on top. Put on a lightly greased sheet, and leave for about 1/2 hour to rise once again.

Bake in a preheated 450 oven for about 1/2 hour. Turn the heat down if the bottom starts to burn before the top gets nice and toasty looking.

I sprayed cold water into the oven every five minutes or so. This steams the bun a little bit and ensures a crispy crust.