Copycat Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

I love the fluffy soft King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls but they are cloyingly sweet for me. A lot of copycat recipes online also have a ton of sugar and some have pineapple juice. Because...Hawaii. Um, yeah. On the list of countless ingredients is potato flour. According to numerous baking blogs, addition of mashed or flaked potato makes breads extra moist and fluffy soft and it also helps in keeping the bread stay fresh longer.

I have added potato flour to some of my sweet rolls and white loaves but never noticed any difference in the softness. This time I used potato flakes which I added to the warm milk before mixing into the dough. Without dough enhancer which has ascorbic acid and some other ingredients, the rolls came out really really soft and just sweet enough. I don't know why I have never added potato flakes before. I do believe the flakes made a difference in texture and also flavor of these yummy rolls. I hope they stay soft for a few days just like the King's.

Copycat Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

¼ cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1½ teaspoons instant yeast (I used SAF Gold made for sweet doughs) 

1 cup warm milk

¼ cup potato flakes

¼ cup soft butter

4 to 5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 egg yolks

3½ cups all-purpose flour

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes until mixture is foamy. 
• Stir potato flakes into the warm milk until softened. Add to the proofed yeast together with butter, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and 3 cups flour. Attach the dough hook and mix on medium low for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium high and knead for 3 minutes, adding extra flour as needed. Knead for another 3 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. 
• Transfer into a lightly greased container, cover with plastic film, and let ferment on the kitchen counter for 2 hours or until doubled in volume. 
• Knead lightly to remove bubbles. Divide into 18 equal portions, shape into balls, and place slightly touching, in a  quarter-size cookie pan. Cover with plastic and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. 
• Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 20 minutes or until tops is golden brown.

so good with smooth Biscoff cookie spread