Another family favorite: Potato Bread Cinnamon Buns

This is another recipe that I considered submitting when Frito-Lay had their "Tastes From Home" contest. Making potato bread cinnamon buns has been a tradition in our house for over a decade. I think it's one of the main reasons why Bethany loves mashed potatoes so much... because leftover mashed potatoes = cinnamon buns! I make these so often that I usually don't measure very accurately. I don't even measure the mashed potatoes... I just eyeball what's left over and decide if it's going to be a full batch or a half batch. If my kids see me making these, quite often they'll comment "Nice measuring, Mom!" On Monday, I made a full batch, and ended up with the pan above filled with rolls, a 9" square pan filled with rolls, and a loaf of cinnamon-swirl bread. Since they aren't gluten-free, I have to pass up on them, but the rest of the family is making good progress at finishing them off. Bethany said the cinnamon-swirl bread made an awesome cream cheese & jelly sandwich!  Some day I want to try converting this recipe to gluten-free.Maybe this winter when it's cold in the house and I want to have the oven on! 


Potato Bread Cinnamon Buns

½ c shortening

2 tsp salt

2 c mashed potatoes

½ c sugar

1½ c boiling water

2 eggs

1½ Tbsp yeast

2 c whole wheat flour

4-5 c white flour

Cream together shortening, salt, mashed potatoes and sugar.  Add boiling water. Beat in eggs. Let mixture cool to lukewarm, if necessary (if you started with cold potatoes and eggs, it should be slightly warm.) Add yeast. Let sit for five minutes. Stir in whole wheat and white flour, one cup at a time. Knead for 5-8 minutes, until dough is smooth. Let rise one hour. Punch down and form into loaves or rolls. Let rise one hour, or until double. Bake at 350° 30-40 minutes for rolls, 45-50 minutes for loaves.

Cinnamon Filling for Cinnamon Buns

½ c sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp vanilla

Spread paste over an 18”x6” rectangle of dough (about 1/4 of a full recipe of dough). Roll up and cut into 1” sections. Makes a 9” pan of cinnamon rolls. The moisture of this paste makes the rolls easy to unwind, so it doesn’t work well with cinnamon swirl bread. For that, use a simple cinnamon/sugar mixture.

For Cinnamon Bread, take about 1/4 of a dough recipe and roll it out into a rectangle as wide as your pan in long. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and roll up. If you want Streusel Topping on your bread, apply before it rises. 

Streusel Topping for Cinnamon Swirl Bread

1/3 c flour

pinch of salt

½ tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp shortening

½ tsp vanilla

¼ c brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix until crumbly. Brush shaped loaves with an egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp streusel topping into greased pan, set loaf in, then sprinkle with ¼ c streusel topping. Press topping into loaf. Let loaves rise and bake as directed above.