Baked Potato

StephenH

Member
I hope no one minds, but I thought the knowledgeable people here could help me out.

I don't seem to be able to bake a decent potato. I don't buy the big bakers, more medium size russets. I poke "many" holes in the potato but after an hour plus in a 400 degree oven they never dry out inside...never gets flakey.

Will you share with me how you get that flakey finish to a potato?

thanks
 
I choose russets that are usually 2-1/2 to 3" diameter at the widest point, so what I would call medium. I scrub, towel dry, prick with knife point about 8 places, and rub with olive oil. I place directly on an oven rack and bake at 400°F for an hour. The rest of meal prep usually goes past the end of the hour, so they are left in the hot oven after it has turned off (I use the delayed cook timer to start them before I get home). So that means they are more like 400 for an hour, 350 for 15 minutes. I also smack them on the counter and give them a little squish both ways before opening them up. If you're not getting fluffy texture from 400 for an hour plus, it's probably just the size of the potato and needing more time. I'd also test your oven with an oven thermometer to see if it agrees with your oven thermostat.
 
There doesn't seem to be a clear consensus as to whether pricking the skin is necessary in a conventional oven or not. A Cook's Illustrated test states that it's not needed to prevent steam-induced explosion like in a microwave. Even so, they still did it to see if it made a difference. The takeaway ended up being that the potato needs to be split open immediately after baking and not left to "rest" unopened, as it was found to release steam that otherwise caused water retention and gumminess. They also liked 45 minutes at 450 better than one hour at 400.

Double baking involves baking, halving, scooping out contents, mashing and mixing with butter, cheese, etc, returning to skin shell and baking further. But that's a different subject.
 
I don't poke holes in mine. I usually scrub'em, wrap in foil, and bake at 425 for up to an hour and a half depending on the size of the potato. The other way I do them is scrub them, dry them, lightly coat with canola oil, and salt the outside with coarse sea salt. Baking time is the same. We eat our tater skins.
 
We eat our tater skins.
345 degrees in tin foil in the home oven. No holes until the done check is a easy slide with a toothpick. Pile up and cover using a kitchen cloth until the rest of the supper is done. I also cook them in an open coal fire using ash as a heat barrier and a light layer of coals on top and bottom. Sometimes I get a little uneven cooking producing a harder skin on one side than the other. Between the beer and the open air cooking, who cares.
KE the skins are the best and hold the less starchy nutrition.
 
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