For Extra-Creamy Baked Potatoes, Never Skip This Step Before Baking

While there are many ingredients that can upgrade baked potatoes, what about the cooking process itself? Next time you're craving a piping hot baked potato with a soft and creamy center, you might want to try this little trick. Before you put your spuds in the oven, steam them first. It's basically a way to give your potatoes a luxurious two-stage cooking method so that you get the best of both worlds — namely, a moist interior from steaming and that crispy, salty outside from the heat of the oven. You can make fluffy baked potatoes in the air fryer, but as it turns out, creamy ones use a steamer.

This steaming trick is similar to the familiar advice that you should always let baked potatoes sit for a few minutes after they come out of the oven before splitting them open to keep all the heat and steam inside. This ensures that the potato stays fluffy and doesn't dry out. Except you're creating that steam earlier in the process. If you have a combi-steam oven, this is going to be very easy for you. All you'll have to do is prick the potatoes and then steam-bake them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit with 100% steam until they are completely tender, which should take about 45 minutes. Once they're soft all the way through, you can brush the outside with fat (like oil or butter) and a sprinkle of salt before putting them back in the oven for an extra 15 minutes at the same temperature (without steam) to crisp up the skin. 

If you don't have a combi-steam oven, you can still try this with a regular steamer, following the same steps except placing the potatoes in a steamer basket instead. Cook until a knife easily slides into the center — around 50 to 60 minutes for a large Russet. The important thing is not to steam it until it starts falling apart, you want the center completely tender but the potato should still be sturdy enough to be finished in the oven. Keep an eye on the potato as it steams too, because overcooking can easily leave you with a potato that is soft and waterlogged. 

Your potato choice is also important. Varieties like Russets are known as more classic baking potatoes because they have a high starch content and relatively low moisture, so as they cook they create a wonderfully soft and fluffy interior. While waxy varieties such as red potatoes are actually known to be creamier, they don't always stand up to being baked in quite the same way. So if the goal is making the best baked potato of your life that's as creamy as possible, grab a baking potato and steam it first. And that soft interior makes a great match for toppings with some contrast, so think crispy fried shallots, toasted breadcrumbs, or crunchy pumpkin seeds. Or, you can finish it off with a spoonful of something sharp like pickled onions or sauerkraut.