Baked potatoes are a go-to for me on days when I don’t want to be full-on cooking, especially when the weather is hot. I’m always on the lookout for different ways to cook this simple vegetable to get a crispy and tasty finish. I’ve previously tried cooking a jacket potato in the microwave and followed a chef’s air-fried baked potato recipe—both gave great results.
This time around, I stuck with using my oven to cook a baked potato, but coated it in one ingredient loved by Chef Sylvia Fountaine, culinary expert and founder of Feasting at Home. In her recipe, she claimed that it’s all about using salt, but not just regular table salt, either sea or kosher salt. I opted for sea salt and found that my baked potato came out of the oven tastier and crispier.
The idea behind using salt is that it is naturally absorbent, so it will absorb excess moisture, giving the skin a chance to crisp up beautifully and form a scrumptious crust without the potato going hard.
As well as salt, you’ll just need some oil. I found that extra-virgin olive oil works best as it gives a better flavour.
The hardest bit about this baked potato tip was waiting for it to cook, but it was worth it. The salt crust on the skin amped up the potato’s natural flavour massively.
How to make baked potatoes tastier and crispier
I started by preheating my oven to 220C Fan before cleaning the potato I was using. Washing and scrubbing potatoes for baking is essential, particularly as I was planning on eating the skin.
I then made holes in the potato at least three times with a fork to let steam escape. This is so they don’t burst in the oven’s heat.
I then drizzled extra virgin olive oil on, making sure to cover the whole potato and gave it a good rub with some sea salt.
While I would usually wrap a potato in tin foil before putting it in the oven, the chef advised against this and simply recommended popping it on a baking tray in the middle of the oven.
The chef explained that wrapping the potato in foil traps steam, leading to a soggy outcome. I left the potato in the oven for an hour as advised; however, I found that it needed an extra 15 minutes.
To make sure my baked potatoes had a “fluffy, not gummy” inside texture, I made an immediate incision with a knife to vent the residual steam.
Once they’re gorgeously golden on top, switch off the oven but leave the potatoes inside for an extra five minutes – this will give their skin an extra crispy edge.
When you finally retrieve your tray, you’ll be greeted with the crispiest, most delicious baked potatoes you’ve ever conjured up.
For the finishing touch, I gave the piping hot potato a gentle squeeze with a tea towel, fluffed the inside with a fork and piled on some butter. While I just kept mine quite plain, there are so many options to jazz up a baked potato. Mary Berry has three “posh fillings” that she loves.
