This versatile and delicious recipe will make your holiday dinner prep so much easier! This dough not only makes fabulous Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls, but it can also be used as pizza dough!
One dough, two uses! These Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls are the perfect side to your holiday meal but the dough can also be used for pizza and can be prepped in advance and frozen.
I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am about this Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls recipe! If you’ve read some of my posts about pizza (like this divine Chocolate Strawberry Mint Dessert Pizza or this Grilled Vegetable Pizza with Lemon Cream Sauce) you know I’m a pizza snob who used to work at a pizza restaurant.
At the restaurant, we had one dough that was used for the dinner rolls and the pizza dough. Tremendously useful, right?
So, I’ve been on a quest to make a unique bread recipe that does double duty. Trouble is that I rarely make bread. I just don’t need the carbs in my diet, but I make exceptions for holidays and the occasional pizza.
After many test batches, viola! This is that handy recipe you’ve been looking for! Now, obviously this Rosemary Sweet Potato dough is a savory recipe, so I don’t think I’d use it with dessert pizza, but it’s an amazingly tasty thin pizza crust! It’s crispy and rolls out like a dream!
So, why is this important as you are prepping for the holidays? Well, I’m pretty sure everyone out there preps some part of their holiday meals in advance. These Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls can be made ahead and frozen. But since it can also be a pizza dough, you have an easy dinner option too!
Everyone wants awesome, fresh rolls for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it’s hard to justify the time when you still have to feed the family before and after the holidays.
I’m here to tell you that you have options. I made a double batch of this dough today and divided it into rolls for Thanksgiving and two pizza crusts for leftovers.
Now, admit it! I just blew your mind! Drops the mic… You can make pizza with your turkey leftovers, veggies, just about anything savory you have on hand. Or you can use the pizza dough the day you make the recipe for dinner.
During an earlier test, we used the dough for pizza with bacon, Butterkäse cheese and tomatoes…no sauce required! It was so easy and delicious! It was like a flatbread pizza, but you could also make a more traditional pizza too.
As dinner rolls, this golden bread is soft and fluffy on the inside and salty on the outside. There are hints of sweetness from the honey and sweet potato with a savory undertone from the rosemary. I bake mine in a skillet for pillowy rolls. But if you like a crustier, slightly chewy exterior, you can also bake them separated on a cookie sheet. Either way they taste so darn delicious!
I guarantee these will be a hit at the holiday dinner table! But you might be even more popular when you reinvent your holiday leftovers into pizza. That’s how to roll this holiday season ;-)
Stay tuned for more pizza recipes!
Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls / Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup water 110-115 F
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- 16.75 oz bread flour, plus more for shaping/rolling
- 2 tsp sea salt, plus more for serving
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sweet potato, roasted, skinned and preferably riced, but mashing will do
- 3 TB extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 2 TB honey
Instructions
- Measure out all ingredients in advance.
- Oil a large bowl and set aside.
- Add yeast to warm water, cover with plastic wrap and then let sit for five minutes to bloom.
- Combine flour, salt and rosemary in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Add in yeast mixture and stir until mostly incorporated.
- Add in sweet potato, oil, and honey and knead dough on low speed for about 7 minutes (Make sure your mixer is locked and make sure it doesn't "walk" off your counter).
- Dough should be elastic and just slightly sticky with little residue left on the bowl. If it's too wet, add one tablespoon of flour at a time, or if it's too dry add a teaspoon of water until it's the right consistency.
- Transfer dough to the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 90 minutes or until it's doubled in size. (If your kitchen is cold like mine you can put it in a warm oven with the door cracked, but keep an eye on it because it might rise faster).
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- With a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 4 pizza crusts or 12 rolls, or any combination of the two.
- Take each piece of dough and fold the edges into the center until you have a nice dough ball. Flip it over and press your finger into the center. If it springs back, the dough is just right.
- At this point you can freeze the dough for later.
- To bake, preheat oven to 400F for rolls or for pizza as high as your oven setting will go.
- For rolls, place dough balls in a parchment lined skillet or on a cookie sheet. Brush tops of rolls with oil and bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Before serving, brush with more oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
- For pizza, roll crust thin. Bake one side of crust on a pizza stone or cookie sheet sprinkled with semolina or flour until its brown on the bottom. Remove from oven, flip over and cover with desired toppings. Return to oven and bake until crispy.
Notes
- For a dinner party, make a double batch! These rolls are addictive! I have a standard KitchenAid mixer and double batch fits perfectly!
- Don't use canned sweet potato. I tried this as a shortcut for a New Years dinner and they were heavy and doughy because of the extra water content in canned sweet potato.
- For a beautifully browned crust, position a stainless steel bowl in the bottom of your oven (near the door) before preheating. After you've placed your dough in the oven to bake, pour 1/2 cup of water into the bowl. It will steam up and spatter so be careful!
Nutrition
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Kenneth Gladman says
With Thanksgiving around the corner I am going to have to perfect these. I don’t know how you get them to appear so perfectly golden. Mine always come out too dark or too light, but with practice comes perfection.
Vintage Kitty says
It can be difficult. I will spin the pan while baking, but this batch also had a little steam help. Thanks for stopping by Kenneth.
ERICA WEAVER says
wow these sound so good and healthy i would love to try these out we love eating bread here and getting the kids to eat veggies this would be perfect
Vintage Kitty says
It’s always great to sneak some veggies in!
adriana says
sweet potato and rosemary,sounds great.
Vintage Kitty says
Its a lovely sweet and savory combo!
Elena says
Looks so delicious! I would love to try this
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Elena! Did you try the recipe? I’d love to know how it turned out for you.
jberry says
Good deal, we planted two rosemary to replace the ones we lost last year.
Vintage Kitty says
It took us many seasons to find the right spot and conditions for our rosemary to survive the winter. We found that planting it next to the house provided some protection. Hope your new rosemary will thrive!
Lorrie Schoettler says
I’m saving this one for when the sweet potatoes we are planting now are harvested in the fall!
Vintage Kitty says
We are growing some sweet potatoes this year and I’m very excited about harvesting them. We have a groundhog that keeps eating the leaves, so I hope it didn’t stunt the growth too much.
sarah k @ the pajama chef says
pinned! love that this could also be used a pizza dough. YUM!
Vintage Kitty says
So glad you saved the recipe! Have you tried it yet?
melody says
ahhhhhhhh… These look delicious! (Sure wish I weren’t gluten-free. :( )
Vintage Kitty says
Sorry Melody. I don’t bake bread often, so haven’t tried anything GF. I do have a pear crumble that’s gluten free. It’s a divine dessert!
Jenna Urben says
Pinning these for later, I love sweet potatoes!
Vintage Kitty says
Awesome! Thanks Jenna!
Olga says
This has some nice combo imgridients. I would munch on these all day. Hehe
Vintage Kitty says
They are irresistible!
Renee Birchfield says
This sounds great! I’m now thinking I will need to revise my Easter menu! Thanks for the great idea!!
Vintage Kitty says
Hope you had a great Easter dinner Renee!
Victoria Watts says
Looks so good! We’re big fans of rolls and sweet potatoes in my family so this will be perfect to go with any dinner for us!
Vintage Kitty says
I grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch family so every meal had bread. Ah the good ol’ days! Hope your family loves the rolls Victoria.
Jen Dantuma says
I love homemade bread and rolls and these look delicious! I’ve never thought about adding sweet potatoes to the dough. Hubby and I bake bread together.
Vintage Kitty says
Husband that bakes bread? Jen, you married well!
Jill Hanson says
Pinned this recipe, these look great, thanks!!!!
Vintage Kitty says
Hope you give the recipe a try Jill!
Edye says
These look amazingly good!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Edye!
Darlene Carbajal says
They would go great with mashed potatoes! Yum!
Vintage Kitty says
Yes, the works! Gravy, green bean casserole, ham, turkey….
Melissa Storms says
These sound really amazing. I love that you can use this dough for pizza crust too, I bet it would be great with some kind of white/garlic sauce, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella.
Vintage Kitty says
Oh that sounds good Melissa!
Julie says
I love baking bread and these rolls look absolutely perfect and sound delish!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Julie!
Ann Fitch says
My rosemary plant is just starting to grow. It’s got great tender leaves. This is a perfect recipe for them!
Vintage Kitty says
I love growing rosemary because it’s evergreen. In the dead of winter I also have something from the garden I can count on!
Deborah Wojciechowski says
I’m loving the versatility of this recipe. Making a pizza with this dough adds extra flavor!
Vintage Kitty says
Absolutely Deborah! Rosemary is a natural for pizza!
Mary says
What a delicious flavor combination! I’ve made potato rolls before and it gave such a great texture to the dough. Will have to try this!
Vintage Kitty says
Yes, very similar in texture to potato rolls but a little sweeter. Hope you love the recipe Mary!
Allyson Becker says
I am addicted to bread, so these are a must have for me! Love the recipe!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Allyson.
Meg Tucker says
I’m not always the best when it comes to doughs but these Sweet Potato Rosemary rolls sound like they are worth trying. I know my kitchen will smell divine!
Vintage Kitty says
Hi Meg! Bread can be tricky. My best advice is to be precise with your measurements and pay attention to the rise. It’s the kind of recipe I like to make while I’m in the kitchen making soup or dessert so I can make sure not to over proof the rolls.
Tammy Catterton says
Wow yummy love rolls here I will have to try these for Easter thanks for sharing it
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks for stopping by Tammy! Hope your rolls were a success.
jules m. says
these sound so delicious, i love rosemary so much i could put it on almost everything!
Vintage Kitty says
Me too! So glad we have a huge rosemary bush.
Kayla Klontz says
I’m not a big fan of sweet potatoes, but the rest of my family would love this,
Vintage Kitty says
Similar to potato rolls, you can’t really taste the sweet potato. It’s mainly for sweetness and texture.
Nancy says
These rolls would make a nice addition to your holiday dinner table.
Vintage Kitty says
They do. I made them for New Years and shaped them into piggies.
Laurie Emerson says
As someone from the South, you had me at sweet potato! I am going to have to make these rolls!
Vintage Kitty says
I’m late to sweet potato fandom, but love it now! I think you’d also love this Buttermilk Sweet Potato Pie. It’s strikes me as very southern!
Emily says
Hi! Love love this recipe. But am forever confused if you mean volume oz or weight oz. With the whole recipe in volume measurements otherwise I always wind up second guessing myself. Any insight? Thank you!
Vintage Kitty says
Hi Emily. That’s a great question. When I list ounces, anytime I list a solid it is a weight. If I list a liquid such as juice or a liquor it’s a volume. I mostly use cup measurements because that is what is most common in the US, but the exception is usually flour (weight) or small quantities of liquid (volume). Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Please let me know how it goes!