I cannot make twice-baked potatoes for the life of me! How do you do it?!
Attempt #1 - microwaved the potato on high for 5 minutes, the inside is still hard-ish and sticky, mashing the insides does not work.
Attempt #2 - bake them in the oven for 1 hour at 350 - the insides are sort of soft but definitely not soft enough to mash, hard chunks just like the first time.
What am I doing wrong? Am I not baking it for long enough? Does it have to be wrapped in baking foil / poked holes in it? I've tried both of those.
Help please! They are so delicious when other people make them!! :P
Answers:
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your first problem is taking the baking time too seriously.
A potato bakes until it is done. period.
You can follow a general guideline for baking time but not all potatoes are the exact same size so you much check them and be prepared to bake them longer if needed.
For twice baked, I sure wouldn't wrap them; in fact I NEVER wrap my potatoes to bake them, There is no need to. I want the skins a bit crispy. If I wanted soft skins I would just microwave the potato.
Yes, poke a hole or 2. You don't need to stab it all over the place, just a poke or 2 for each potato.
After your potatoes are tender(poke with the blade of a knife to check if the inside is tender) continue with your recipe.
5 minutes in a microwave just par cooks it. And doing it int he microwave is Not good for a twivce baked. You need a good shel to scoop from and a microwaved taters will just be soft.
Obviously if it isn't soft it is Not cooked enough.
I prefer to start them in the microwave (5 min) then slide into a hot oven. This cuts down on the over all oven time.
You need to cook them longer, until the insides are soft, then scoop the flesh out to prepare it. In my microwave I usually cook one large potato for at least 8 minutes. In the oven, I bake them at 400 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
If the potato isn't soft enough, then obviously you aren't cooking it long enough. 5 minutes in a microwave is nowhere near enough.
Wash, then place potatoes on a cookie sheet...Bake at 350 for an hour...after an hour if not completely soft bake for another half hour...
You could bake at 375..my oven bakes hot so I use 350...
Good luck........
don't nuke and bake for one hour first than scoop out and all.
You should poke holes in them when baking the potatoes. The holes help the air to circulate inside of the potato while cooking. ylu do not have to wrap them in foil.. As a matter of fact if your put a dab of oil on the potato and sprinkle all sides with salt and peper before baking the skin will tcrisp while cooking. 1 hour is the standard but sometimes botatoes can take longer to cook in the oven, At the one hour time mark check the poatoes in the overn. try to instert the thines of a fork or better yet a butter knife into the poatoes. If it goes in and out smoothly the potatoe is done. If not leave it in and check it in 15 minute intervals.
The same goes for microwaving. After 5 minutes check the potato.. if not done add a minute and keep going until the potato is done
I microwave my potatoes and use a fork to check when each one is done. The fork should easily slide right into the center. Five minutes is not long enough for a couple of potatoes.
When soft, I use a knife carve out an oval hole in the top and then throw that away. From there, I just scoop out the insides and place the scooped potatoes into a bowl. Now it's just a matter of taste what you do here to the potato scoopings.
I like making a nice mashed potato with a mixer using butter, sour cream, pepper, garlic, milk or cream, shredded cheddar cheese. I then fill each potato shell with this mixture and might top with Monterrey Jack cheese and/or bacon chunks and bake in a 350 oven until they look done anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
By the way, I use yellow flesh potatos.