Gordon Ramsay’s baked potato, also called a jacket potato, is a floury potato rubbed with oil and flaky salt. It bakes whole for about an hour, until the skin is crisp and the inside fluffy.
Gordon doesn’t have a standalone baked potato recipe, but his Twice-Baked Bubble and Squeak Jacket Potatoes in Ultimate Home Cooking starts right here. He bakes the potato whole at 180C for an hour until crisp. He bakes rather than boils, he says, because it gives a “fluffier, more potato-y flavour.”
The make-or-break is the potato itself: you want a floury variety like Maris Piper or King Edward. Waxy potatoes stay dense, while high-starch ones bake up light and fluffy. Dry the skin well before the oil and salt, so it crisps instead of steaming.
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Gordon Ramsay Baked Potato
Course: Side DishCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
5
minutes1
minute250
kcal1 hr 5 min
Gordon Ramsay’s baked potato method, built on the bake from his Twice-Baked Bubble and Squeak in Ultimate Home Cooking. A floury potato rubbed with oil and flaky salt, baked whole until the skin crisps and the inside turns fluffy. Ready for butter and any topping.
Ingredients
4 large floury baking potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward or Russet)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
Butter, to serve
Toppings of choice (optional)
Directions
- Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan) Gas 4.
- Prep the potatoes: Wash and dry the potatoes really well. Prick each a few times with a fork, then rub all over with the olive oil and flaky salt.
- Bake: Sit them straight on the oven shelf and bake for about 1 hour, until the skin is crisp and a knife slides easily through the middle.
- Fluff and serve: Cut a cross in the top, squeeze the sides to open it up, and fork through the fluffy inside. Add butter and your toppings.
FAQs
What is the best potato for a baked potato?
Floury, high-starch potatoes. Maris Piper, King Edward or Russet all bake up light and fluffy inside, which is what you want. Waxy salad potatoes stay firm and dense, so they never get that soft middle.
In his potato guide, Gordon sorts potatoes by starch: floury for fluffy results, waxy for things like his dauphinoise. A baked potato is firmly in the floury camp, the same potatoes you would reach for to make roast potatoes.
Should you wrap a baked potato in foil?
No, and this is the most common mistake. Foil traps steam against the skin, so instead of crisping it goes soft and leathery. Gordon’s method bakes the potato uncovered, straight on the shelf, so the skin dries out and crisps.
Wrap it only if you actually want soft skin, for example keeping potatoes warm for a crowd. For the classic crisp jacket, leave the foil in the drawer.
How do you get really crispy skin?
Three things: dry the potato, oil and salt it, and give it heat. Drying the skin first means the oil crisps it rather than steaming it. The flaky salt pulls out moisture and seasons the skin as it bakes.
If you want it even crisper, turn the oven up to 200C for the last 15 to 20 minutes. That hotter blast tightens the skin into a proper crunch without drying out the inside.
How do you get a fluffy inside?
Start with a floury potato and bake it fully, an hour for a large one. Underbaking is what leaves a dense, waxy middle, so check a knife slides all the way through with no resistance.
This is exactly why Gordon bakes rather than boils his potatoes, for a “fluffier, more potato-y flavour.” Baking drives off moisture instead of soaking it in, so the inside stays light. Fork it the moment it is open to let the steam escape.
What do you put on a loaded baked potato?
Start with plenty of butter and seasoning while it is hot, so it melts into the fluffy inside. From there the classics are grated cheese and spring onions, soured cream, baked beans, or leftover chilli.
For something richer, fold the hot flesh with butter and cheese, then pile it back in. That is the loaded route, and it is one step away from a full twice-baked potato.
Can you cook a baked potato faster?
You can, but you trade away the skin. Microwaving for 8 to 10 minutes cooks the inside quickly, though the skin stays soft and pale. The oven hour is what gives you the crisp jacket.
The middle ground is to microwave for about 5 minutes, then finish in a hot oven for 20 to crisp the skin. You get most of the texture in half the time.
