Martha Stewart’s Weird Trick for a Fluffy Baked Potato Is Brilliant

It'll be a smash hit.

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Baked potatoes are my kind of girl dinner—they are affordable, nutritious, and versatile. You can stuff them with anything you like; I love to use leftover taco meat or chili, but I’ve also been known to load them with butter and Greek yogurt, served alongside a mound of steamed broccoli.

Cooking baked potatoes perfectly can be a little tricky—sometimes, they can become dense and gummy. To prevent this, some recipes suggest taking the temperature of the potatoes, similar to meat. While I like this idea, I bake potatoes so I don’t have to babysit something in the oven or on the stove.

Then, I discovered Martha Stewart’s potato hack. She’s known for a lot of potato intel—including baking Yukon gold potatoes for a creamy, almost buttery interior—one of her most notable tricks is banging a cooked baked potato on the counter.

Why Martha's Potato Trick Is Genius

In Martha's recipe, she pricks russet potatoes a few times before brushing with oil and sprinkling with salt and baking. As soon as they're knife-tender, she holds each potato with a clean kitchen towel and smashes it on the kitchen counter to release the fluffy insides and gently break up the skin. You can feel the flesh crumble the second it hits the counter.

Waiting too long to open a baked potato traps moisture, making the potato denser and gummier. So, hitting the potato on the counter immediately after it comes out of the oven breaks it open and releases the trapped steam, which dries out the inside just enough to make it fluffy and light. The impact of the banging also breaks up the flesh.

Choose russet potatoes for this trick—they have a high starch content and yield a softer, airier center than waxier varieties.

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How to Make Martha’s Baked Potatoes

To make Martha's Baked Potatoes, you'll first preheat an oven to 400°F. Then, you'll prick the washed and scrubbed potatoes a few times with a fork, brush with olive oil, and season all over with salt and pepper.

Place the potatoes directly on the rack and bake until they are soft and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Once they're removed from the oven, you'll carefully grab a hot potato with a clean kitchen towel and bang it down firmly on the counter once to fluff up the flesh. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

How to Enjoy Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are best enjoyed straight away—cut open, season generously with more salt and pepper, and top as you like. Dig in while they're piping hot.

That being said, baked potatoes also taste great when fried the next day. Once cooled to room temperature, I put them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator. Then, I peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks, and fry the pieces to make a delicious breakfast hash, topped with a runny egg.

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