Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls are pretty much a staple at our Christmas dinner. When I was growing up dinner rolls always came from a grocery store. They were decent but not something to really look forward to at a big holiday dinner. In fact with all the other food options available, in my opinion they’re not even worth eating.

When I was running marathons it seemed like I couldn’t possible eat enough carbohydrates, but since I stopped and no longer see carbohydrates as fuel for my twenty mile run coming up, I’ve gotten pretty selective on which carbohydrates I consume. Homemade bread, fresh out of the oven is most certainly worth the carbohydrates. I’ll even save room so I can have a second roll when I get more turkey.

The Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls have a very faint sweet potato taste that I just love. You can brush them with egg wash for a nice shiny crust or not if you would rather have a dull finish.

I’ve made these for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter dinners. I always make and shape the dough ahead of time so all that I need to do is brush them with egg wash if I want a shiny finish (or not), and then put them in the oven for twenty minutes. I usually do that right after the ham or turkey comes out of the oven. Nobody ever eats right away at holiday dinners anyway. It always works out where I can shape the dough and just let it sit on a parchment paper covered baking sheet in a cool garage until I’m ready to finally bake them.

This recipe will make sixteen decent size dinner rolls, about the size of a store bought hamburger bun. If I’m making dinner rolls for a smaller occasion I’ll make entire batch, cut the dough into individual pieces and store half in my freezer for another time. Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls work really well as a hamburger bun too. They don‘t have to only be eaten at large holiday dinners. Two weeks ago my wife forgot to get hamburger buns when she was grocery shopping, and I was able to offer some of my dough. That’s right, warm homemade hamburger buns for a weeknight dinner. Even on a night where my wife and I both had to work during the day. How incredibly cool is that? For the record they went great with the pulled pork my wife made in the crock pot.

To store these rolls in the freezer simply make the dough and let it rise normally. Cut the dough into individual portions, wrap your extra pieces of dough in plastic wrap, and stuff them in a freezer bag. Make sure to get as much air out of the freezer bag as possible. I like to put the bag of dough all the way in the back of the freezer, hidden behind the bag of chicken nuggets, because I know that if someone breaks into my house they’ll be looking for the dough I’ve got hidden in the freezer.

Adapted from Pinch My Salt