Sweet Potato Rolls

When we lived in BYU housing many, many moons ago, I had a neighbor drop by a plate of pumpkin rolls 'just because.'  I don't even remember which neighbor, but I sure do remember those rolls.  They were incredible.  Soft, sweet, and delicious, they were reminiscent of potato rolls and those Hawaiian rolls you get with your Fried Chicken meal at Smith's.  I begged her for the recipe, which she gave, and I promptly lost.

Last week, I developed a craving for those rolls, but the recipe was nowhere to be found.  As previously mentioned, I don't even remember who gave me the rolls in the first place, so I couldn't beg for the recipe again. Undaunted, I searched for the recipe online and found one at Tammy's Recipes that I thought would make a pretty good approximation.

What with it being spring and all, I'm fresh out of pumpkin, both canned and fresh variety.  Still, we were going to town on Tuesday for the fair, so I stopped by the local Wal-Mart with high hopes.  No.  They were out of pumpkin.  I ask you, how are they out of pumpkin?  Who buys canned pumpkin in March? I mean, besides me. I must admit, I was kind of crushed, when my mother-in-law asked, "So, what did you want the pumpkin for, anyway?"  When I explained, she suggested, "You know, you should try canned sweet potato.  It's a pretty good substitute."

And boy, was she right.  I think I like it better than the original.  Ah-mazing.  So, without further ado, here is my modified (both because we were out of pumpkin and because I was making it slightly healthier) version of Tammy's rolls.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk
¼ cup butter, softened or melted (I warm it with the milk above)
2 cups mashed canned sweet potato (It worked out to be one of the big cans)
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
8-10 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
7 teaspoons dry yeast


Directions

1. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, water, milk, butter, mashed sweet potato, and salt. Mix well.

2. Add whole wheat flour, 5-6 cups of the AP flour, and yeast. Mix, and then continue adding flour and kneading until dough is elastic and not sticky.

3. Place dough in greased bowl; grease top of dough, cover with a towel, and set in a warm place until doubled (about 60-90 minutes).

4. Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Divide each third into 16 pieces and shape into balls.

5. Place on greased baking sheets, and grease tops. (I use two 11x15-inch baking sheets, and put 24 rolls on each.) Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until tops are golden. Remove to wire racks and cover with a towel. Brush tops with butter if desired, as soon as rolls are removed to the wire racks. Serve warm with butter.