Dauphinoise Potatoes vs Potato Bake: What’s the Difference?

Dauphinoise potatoes and potato bake are two popular potato dishes that are often confused with each other. While Dauphinoise potatoes are a type of potato bake, not all potato bakes are Dauphinoise potatoes.

dauphinoise potatoes
Dauphinoise Potatoes. Credit: canva

Dauphinoise Potatoes vs Potato Bake

What are Dauphinoise Potatoes?

The French dish known as Potatoes Dauphinoise or Gratin dauphinoise is made with sliced potatoes baked in milk, cream, and cheese.

It has a history dating back to the Dauphiné region of France.

A French potato side dish uses the gratin technique to bake sliced potatoes in milk or cream.

What is Potato Bake?

A potato bake, or baked potato, also known as a jacket potato in parts of the United Kingdom, is a preparation of potatoes. It isn’t always the name of a particular meal.

The ideal baked potato has a fluffy interior and crispy skin.

People usually serve this potato bake with fillings, toppings, or condiments such as butter, cheese, sour cream, gravy, and other things.

Dauphinoise Potatoes vs. Potato Bake: What’s the difference?

Dauphinoise Potato is a type of potato bake dish that you usually cook in milk or cream, using the gratin technique.

A potato bake is a preparation of potatoes. You can cook the potato bake with various types of toppings or condiments and make them into multiple types of dishes. And one of the dishes that use potato bake is Dauphinoise Potatoes.

So, Dauphinoise is basically a type of potato bake dish. 

Credit: canva

About Dauphinoise Potatoes

Variations of the dish

There are many different names for the dish, including pommes de terre dauphinoise, potatoes à la dauphinoise, and gratin de pommes à la dauphinoise.

See also  Can Dauphinoise Potatoes Be Made Without Cream?

In American English, the dish is known as potato gratin.

Dauphinoise potatoes vs. potato gratin: what’s the difference?

Initially, Dauphinoise potatoes and potato gratin are similar but different kinds of dishes. Although, nowadays, these two dishes are interchangeable.

A gratin is a dish made from thinly sliced vegetables, cheese, and butter. Creamy sauces are usually used to make potato gratin.

The difference between dauphinoise potatoes and gratin is that Dauphinoise starts with raw potatoes, but gratin starts with boiled potatoes.

A gratin dauphinoise is made by thinly slicing potatoes, adding milk or cream, and sometimes Gruyère cheese. The dish is then baked with garlic in it.

Potato au gratin uses boiled potatoes from the beginning.

Dauphinoise potatoes vs. Dauphine potatoes: what’s the difference?

Dauphinoise potatoes are not the same as Dauphine potatoes, although they have a similar name.

Pommes dauphine (also known as dauphine potatoes) are crispy potato puffs. You make them with mashed potatoes and choux pastry. They are about the size of quenelles or balls. Then you fry them at 170° to 180°C.

Dauphinoise potatoes vs. scalloped potatoes: what’s the difference?

Dauphinoise potatoes are also different from Scalloped potatoes.

Scalloped potatoes are much easier to make. You need to layer the potatoes and then bake them in a sauce made of milk and heavy cream.

How to make Dauphinoise Potatoes?

Dauphinoise is the French method of baking potatoes in milk, cream, and cheese. In France, every home cook has their own formula for this perfect side dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 clove of garlic, halved
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup shredded Emmenthaler cheese or Gruyère cheese, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes or (Maris Piper for floury potatoes), peeled, thinly sliced, rinsed, and patted dry
  • Fresh thyme or bay leaf (if you like)

Instructions

dauphinoise potatoes
Credit: canva
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Rub the inside of the casserole dish with a garlic clove and use 1 tablespoon of butter to grease it.
  2. On a stove, heat the milk and 3/4 cup of cream mixture. When bubbles appear around the sides of the pan, take it off.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg lightly.
  4. Whisk the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Add some of the liquid first. If you add too much, it will make scrambled eggs.
  5. Once all the hot liquid is mixed with the egg, add 3/4 cup of cheese. Then, put it back in the saucepan.
  6. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese melts. Then add salt, pepper, and nutmeg for flavor.
  7. Add potato slices to the sauce and stir to coat.
  8. Put the slices of potato in the baking dish and spread the layers of potato out evenly.
  9. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of your dish. Next, put the butter in tiny pieces on top of your dish.
  10. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven. Turn it on to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooking time is 1 hour.
  11. Cool the gratin for 15 minutes on a heat-proof surface.
  12. Use a flat knife to loosen the sides of the gratin. Then brush the top with the 3/4 cup of heavy cream.
  13. Put the baking dish back into the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  14. Turn off the heat and let the gratin finish browning for 30 minutes longer.
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About Potato Bake

Variations of the dish

There are many variations of dishes with potato bake as the base.

Many restaurants in the U.S. serve baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, chives, shredded cheese, and bacon bits.

These potatoes can be a side item to a steak dinner or any other dinner.

In the United Kingdom, a baked potato is sometimes called a jacket potato. Baked potatoes have been famous in the U.K. for many years.

In the mid-19th century, people sold jacket potatoes on the street. They would sell them during the fall and winter.

In France, there are several baked potato dishes, including Dauphinoise potato and Potato au gratin.

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Potatoes are served as an accompaniment to meat dishes. They can also be the center of a fast-food restaurant called a pataterie.

How to Make Potato Bake

Cheesy Potato Bake Recipe

One very easy potato bake recipe is this Cheesy Potato Bake Recipe. The unique feature of this recipe is the cheese sauce. Let’s try.

Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 1/4 cup plain flour
  • 2 1/3 cups milk
  • 2 cups grated cheese
  • 1.2kg Sebago potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a medium baking dish.
  2. Put butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Put flour in the saucepan—Cook the butter and flour for 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir well while cooking, or it will burn.
  3. Remove the sauce from the heat. Slowly add milk while stirring constantly. Put the sauce back on the stove and cook it while you stir. When it boils, take it off of the stove.
  4. Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Stir to combine.
  5. Put one-third of the potatoes over the base of the prepared baking dish. Put salt and pepper on them. Then put one-third of the cheese sauce on top.
  6. Repeat twice. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
  7. Bake the layered potatoes for one hour. They should be cooked and golden brown on top. If they get too brown, cover them with foil.

Other Recipes

Other popular potato bake recipes include:

  • Dauphinoise potatoes
  • Leek, potato & bacon bake
  • Sweet potato & spinach bake
  • Garlic mash potato bake
  • Baked tomato, gruyere & gratin potato
  • And many more.

Potato Dauphinoise Without Cream

If you’re looking for a luxurious, creamy potato dish that doesn’t require any cream, look no further than this potato dauphinoise without cream. This classic French side can easily be made dairy-free by using almond milk and vegan butter in place of the traditional cream and butter. The results are just as delicious!


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