Best Sweet Potato Buns Recipes

SWEET POTATO BUNS

Steps:

• Place sweet potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well. Mash sweet potatoes with a potato masher. Measure out 1 cup and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate remaining mashed sweet potatoes for another use.
• Whisk 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup warm water, and yeast together in a bowl. Cover and and place in a warm place to allow yeast to activate, about 15 minutes.
• Spoon 1 cup of cooled mashed sweet potatoes into yeast mixture and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add egg, melted butter, honey, and sea salt and about 3 cups flour. Mix using the dough hook. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes. If dough seems too sticky, gradually add in remaining flour or as needed to where dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Continue kneading until dough is very soft, only slightly sticky, and somewhat elastic, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface. Shape into smooth ball. Return dough to bowl and drizzle with oil; rub oil over entire surface to prevent dough from drying out. Cover and place in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press out air pockets. If needed, use only enough flour to keep dough from sticking. Press into rectangular shape about 3/4-inch thick. Cut dough into 16 equal sized pieces. Gently shape each piece into a ball. Slightly flatten each ball and place onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Let rise until double, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water together in a bowl. Brush each bun with egg mixture. Sprinkle dough with sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 15 minutes.

SWEET POTATO MANTOU (CHINESE STEAMED BUNS)

Steps:

• Peel and cook sweet potato.
• Puree cooked sweet potato in blender with water or milk and sugar.
• Pour sweet potato liquid into a bowl, sprinkle with yeast, and allow to dissolve.
• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Stir flour mixture into yeast mixture. Knead in 1 additional cup of flour as needed.
• Melt butter or lard and knead into dough.
• Let rise until double (60-90 min).
• Roll dough into flat rectangle; starting from front edge, roll dough into log. Cut log into 16 equal segments. (See photos and instructions for more attractive ways to shape the buns here: http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2009/08/steamed-sweet-potato-mantou.html and here: http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2011/08/purple-sweet-potato-rose-mantou.html).
• Place buns in steamer basket, on cheesecloth, about 1 inch apart.
• Steam vigorously for 15-20 minutes.
• (The buns can be cooked in the steamer basket of your rice cooker while the rice is cooking. They don't all fit at one time, so I freeze the the rest of the shaped, raw, buns on a flat baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. I can pull them out a few at time to thaw and steam as needed.).

TURKEY SLIDERS WITH SWEET POTATO "BUNS"

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain on paper towels. Discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings. Set skillet aside. Combine bacon with next 8 ingredients until well mixed; cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 425°. Cut sweet potatoes into 20 slices about 1/2 in. thick. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet; bake until sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy, 30-35 minutes. Remove slices; cool on a wire rack., Heat skillet with reserved drippings over medium-high heat. Shape turkey mixture into slider-sized patties. Cook sliders in batches, 3-4 minutes on each side, taking care not to crowd skillet. Add a pinch of shredded cheddar after flipping each slider the first time. Cook until a thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear., To serve, place each slider on a sweet potato slice; dab with honey Dijon mustard. Cover with a second sweet potato slice. Pierce with toothpick.

SWEET POTATO BURGER BUNS

Steps:

• To bake sweet potato: Wash and dry the sweet potato then pierce the skin all over with a fork. Bake in a pre-heated over at 400ºF for 40-50 minutes, until a small knife can be easily inserted into the flesh. Let it cool completely then scoop out the flesh. Set aside.
• To make the sweet potato burger buns: Heat the whole milk in the microwave for about 35-45 seconds until it's warm to the touch but not hot (110-115ºF). Add the active dry yeast and let it dissolve and foam up for 10 minute
• In a stand-mixer with a dough-hook, add the bread flour, baked sweet potato, light brown sugar, salt, grated nutmeg and 1 large egg yolk (reserve the egg white for egg-wash later). Add whole milk and yeast, then mix on medium speed for 5 min until the dough is elastic and smooth. If the dough is too dry that it won't come together after a couple minutes, add 1 tsp of the reserved egg white to moisten.
• Then knead the unsalted butter into the dough on medium speed, 1 tablespoon at a time (only add the next addition when the previous one is completely incorporated into the dough). Increase the speed to medium-high and knead the dough for another 6-8 minutes until shiny, elastic and very smooth. The dough should be slightly sticky, but pulls away cleanly from the bowl while the machine's running.
• Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl then cover with plastic wrap. Let proof at a warm/room-temperature spot until fully doubled in size, approximately 2 hours. If you are making the buns the day before using, proof refrigerated for 18~24 hours.
• Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch out the air. Divide it into 7 equal portions (or 6 if you want it a little bigger). Stretch the surface of the dough and tuck it underneath itself to form a smooth top-surface while shaping the dough into a ball. Place the doughs on a parchment-lined baking-sheet then loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let proof again at room temperature for 45-50 min (or 2 hours if the dough was refrigerated overnight), until the doughs have almost doubled again.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven on 375ºF.
• Beat the reserved egg-white with 1 tsp of water to make egg-wash. For an extra shiny finish, brush the doughs with egg-wash, then let dry for 5 min and brush again for another coating. Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt and fresh thyme leaves, then bake in the oven until golden browned, about 20 minute.

GLUTEN FREE SWEET POTATO BUNS

Steps:

• In a measuring cup dissolve sugar in warm water, sprinkle on yeast, cover with saran wrap and set aside.
• In a small bowl mix together brown rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, guar gum and salt.
• Grind oats, almonds and chia in a clean coffee grinder or blender until they are very fine and mix in well with dry ingredients until there are no lumps.
• In bowl of electric mixer add cooked sweet potato, honey, butter or coconut oil, and eggs. Mix well then add proofed yeast mixture. Add dry ingredients 1 cup at a time until mixed well.
• Push all ingredients down sides of bowl to be sure there's no dry spots then beat on medium-high for 3 minutes. Mixture should be very creamy and thready looking. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until proper texture is reached.
• With a cookie scoop, place mixture into 2 muffin top pans, flatten with the back of a spoon warmed in water.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like them.
• Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until the outside is very golden.
• Let sit for ten minutes before removing from pans to complete cooling on racks.

SWEET POTATO BUNS

Steps:

• Peel the sweet potato and cut into chunks. Place in a pan and cover with cold water. Boil until soft. Drain and mash. Reserve 1 cup for this recipe and put the rest away for another time.
• Put the warm water in a large bowl. Mix in the sucanat (or other sweetner). Float the yeast on top of the water and let it sit until bubbly and foamy (about 5 minutes).
• To the yeast mixture add the sweet potatoes, oil, and salt. Use a mixer to beat this stuff together. Then beat in the oats and the 1 cup of white flour. Add the whole wheat pastry flour a little at a time, kneading until a smooth dough is formed.
• Spray a metal bowl with cooking spray and place the dough inside. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until about doubled.
• Punch down and divide into 8 balls. Spray 2 cooking sheets with spray. Form the balls and them pat them flat (like roll shapes). Put them on the cookie sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place until about doubled.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.

SWEET POTATO STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Remove the yams and syrup from the can. Mash the yams in a small bowl using a fork and set aside. (This will be about 1 cup.) Place 1/2 cup of the yam syrup into a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, brown sugar and yeast. Stir and let set a couple of minutes. To this mixture add 2 tablespoons of butter, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, salt, and the 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Stir all ingredients together using a baker's bread whisk or heavy spoon. Add 1 cup of flour and mix inches Add the second cup of flour and mix. The flour should now be added in 1/4 cup increments until the dough pulls together as a ball. Flour a work surface and remove the dough ball from the bowl.
• Gently knead the dough with a fold down toward you, push back with the heels of your hand type motion, carefully folding and flipping the dough for about 6 to 8 minutes or until it is satiny and a depressed finger spot springs back. Clean out the mixing bowl and grease it with the remaining melted butter. Rub some of the melted butter on the top of the dough; cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until double in bulk.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place again on a lightly floured surface. Allow to rest while you make the glaze and filling.
• To make the glaze and prepare the pan: with a pastry brush grease the inside of a 9x10-inch round or square baking pan using 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and cover the bottom of the prepared pan and spread out across a bit up the sides.
• To make the filling, combine the pecans, brown sugar, and spice in a small bowl. Roll the dough out to a 12x12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Spread the praline filling evenly across the dough. Roll up jellyroll style so that you end with a 12-inch roll. Slice the roll into 12 even pieces. (The easiest way is to cut the dough in half, and those in half again - and then in thirds.) Place the cut rolls into the prepared pan, so that the swirl of filling is visible on top. (They can also be refrigerated at this point until ready to bake.) Allow the rolls to rise and become "puffy" before baking. This step is important to achieve a light texture on the finished rolls.
• Place in oven, turn oven to 350ºF and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 2 minutes, cover with a large platter, and flip pan over so the sticky buns are now sticky side-up. Enjoy! Chef's Note: Use caution when flipping the cooked sticky buns over because the filling and syrup are extremely hot. If the buns don't come out of the pan easily simply place in a warm oven to remelt the glaze and the buns should fall right out.