The Extra Step To Take For The Creamiest Baked Potatoes Every Time

One of the best things about making baked potatoes at home is that you can achieve delicious results without any complicated steps. In fact, Alton Brown believes simplicity is key to the perfect homemade baked potato – doing little more than salting and oiling the spuds before throwing them in the oven, and always ditching the foil. While this is a valid strategy, getting the creamiest baked potatoes possible necessitates one extra step to really get the job done. The tactic in question is none other than pre-steaming the potatoes, which allows the inside of the spud to bake more evenly.

The beauty of pre-steaming potatoes was explained to us here at The Takeout by Kieron Hales, who serves as the managing partner and head chef at Zingerman's Cornman Farms. He noted that pre-steaming a potato creates a much softer, creamier spud for you to enjoy, because the process gelatinizes the starch and transfers the heat evenly. "This moist heat allows the starch to swell and soften without breaking," Hales revealed.

Hales utilizes his stove and a steamer basket after washing and drying his potatoes. "Once at a boil, add the steamer basket to the pot and place the potato in, and cover with a lid," Hales advised. "Turn down the heat slightly and leave to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. You are looking to be able to push a skewer in with a little resistance."

While pre-steaming can do wonders for your baked potato's texture, there are important ways to ensure they're explicitly creamy. While most recipes call for a russet potato for a nice, fluffy finish, Yukon Golds yield a much creamier interior but lack the remarkable taste of the russet's flavorful crust. Because of this, using key mix-ins and adding them to your steamed baked potato before serving can enhance its creaminess. For Kieron Hales, the ideal creamy additions are classic baked potato toppings. "I have become a super fan of sour cream, but on a fancy day I will upgrade to crème fraîche," Hales expressed. "The acidity and fatness really brighten the taste."

You can also double-bake your potato to get a truly creamy result. Simply bake the potato, remove the insides, and mix it with a creamy ingredient like sour cream or crème fraîche you've made at home — alongside other flavorings like salt, pepper, green onions, and potentially cheese. Return the mix inside the skin, and put the potato back in the oven to bring the ingredients together, producing a supremely creamy texture in the process.