Cheeserolls (CRUMBSHOT)

Mary Grace needs no introduction. Their cheese rolls are the gold standard of a proper brioche - soft, fluffy, and light as a feather. The texture of their rolls are elusive and in my opinion nothing else comes close. It’s really no surprise why Mary Grace has gained so much popularity over the last decade or so. Naturally, I was intrigued by this particular recipe from Pepper.ph, which contained instant mashed potatoes. I thought it was genius. Although potatoes aren’t traditionally found in breads of this type, I know of one application where the inclusion of potatoes make the rolls superior - Shake Shack (which uses Martin’s Potato Rolls). Supposedly, the starch in potatoes absorb more water than wheat starch in flour, which leads to a moist and tender crumb. Again, my curiosity got the best of me this time.

My rating: 8.5/10. I tweaked the recipe and used real mashed potatoes because I couldn’t find the instant variety. I decreased the water required in the recipe to account for the added hydration of the fresh potatoes. I also watched the instructional video a dozen times as a visual guide for the final texture of the dough. A point of confusion in the recipe was they required each roll to be portioned into 40g pieces and when I did, they were significantly less than what was shown on the video. However, if there was any mistake committed, it’s most probably from my end because they’re the professionals, not me. With that being said, this roll was ultra-fluffy and considerably lighter than other rolls that use wheat flour only. Taste-wise, the potato did not come through at all. The cheese flavor could be a bit stronger, though. Even if the cheese melted, the flavor was confined only to the center of the roll. The main reason I gave this an 8.5 was I found it not sweet enough, even though I was liberal in topping the rolls with butter and sugar. Also, the day after, the sugar crystals basically melted into the tops and they ended up looking like regular hotdog buns. I don’t know how to address this, but there might be a secret to it.