Few things rival a plate of golden, crispy roast potatoes served alongside a hearty main course. Yet, achieving that perfect crunch without ending up with soggy spuds can be frustrating. As a roast potato lover, I’ve often felt anxious about getting them just right.
Many home cooks share the disappointment of putting in the effort only to have limp potatoes emerge from the oven. However, while flipping through Mary Berry’s cookbook Simple Comforts, I discovered that you don’t need fancy techniques to make delicious roast potatoes—the secret ingredient is surprisingly simple: semolina flour.
Mary Berry writes: “A roast potato should be ultra-crispy and golden on the outside with a fluffy light middle. Par-boiling the potatoes ahead and roughing them up before roasting gives a lovely crispy outside, with the semolina adding extra crunch.”
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Semolina flour, commonly used by bakers for pasta and pizza dough due to its higher gluten content, also works wonders for roast potatoes. Its excellent moisture-absorbing ability helps draw out surface liquid from the potatoes, promoting better browning and a crispier crust.
Potatoes naturally contain a lot of water, and cooking them straight away often causes steaming rather than roasting, leading to soggy skins. Using semolina removes this surface moisture, preventing sogginess and delivering that sought-after crunch.
I tried this Mary Berry method myself and was amazed at how easily it produced perfectly crispy, fluffy potatoes without long, complicated preparation.
When selecting potatoes, opt for varieties like Maris Piper, King Edward, or other roasting potatoes. These have higher starch content, releasing less moisture during cooking and resulting in crispier edges.
For roasting fat, sunflower oil or goose fat are excellent choices since their high smoke points allow the potatoes to cook at hotter temperatures without burning, enhancing the crispiness and flavor.