Follow these steps to make the flakiest, tastiest baked potato.

Step 1: Choose a potato

Choose any potato. Russet potatoes are a popular style.

If you are cooking more than one, use potatoes of similar sizes so they will cook evenly.

Step 2: Clean potato

Scrub the potato with a stiff bristle brush. Then rinse it under cold water and dry thoroughly.

Make sure the skin has a brownish tone with no green color.

Step 3: Prepare oven

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust the rack to the middle position.

Step 4: Pierce potato

Pierce the potato four or five times with a fork. This allows the steam to escape during baking.

Step 5: Rub ingredients

Rub some olive oil on the potato, and then roll it in coarse salt. This will make the skin delicious to eat.

Do not wrap your potato in aluminum foil. This will give you a steamed potato, not a baked one.

Step 6: Place on tray

Place the potato on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for approximately 60 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on the size.

Step 7: Take potato out

Take the potato out of the oven and pierce it with a fork; if it is tender it is done.

Step 1: Wash your potato and scrub away dirt and “eyes” with a potato or vegetable brush.

Step 2: Poke holes into your potato using a fork. Be sure to make several on each side of the potato. Without the holes, your potato will explode.

Step 3: Place the potatoes, in the microwave on high for 5 minutes. If cooking 3 or more potatoes, expand this to 7 minutes. Note, this is for an average-sized potato. Adjust time accordingly for size.

Step 4: Let the potato cool for 1 to 2 minutes after it is finished microwaving.

Step 5: Remove the potato from microwave and test it by sticking your fork inside the potato. If it passes through easily, then your potato is ready. If you feel resistance and the potato is still hard inside, microwave for another 2 minutes.

Place your potato in the toaster oven for five minutes on “toast” to crisp up the outside skin.

Add chives, cheese, bacon and other toppings or fillings to dress up this potato recipe. Cook the potato in the microwave first, add your desired ingredients and then finish in the toaster oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 1: Bake sweet potatoes in their jackets. Wash, cut off the ends and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 40 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes and how firm you want them to be). Bake the potatoes on a baking sheet; the sugars in the potatoes can drip out and burn on the floor of your oven.

Step 2: Roast peeled chunks of sweet potatoes with onions in a 400 degree F oven for 40 to 60 minutes. Drizzle a little olive oil on the potatoes first.

Step 3: Boil or steam peeled or unpeeled sweet potatoes, either cut into chunks or not, until tender. The time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes or chunks – from 5 minutes for small chunks to 30 minutes for whole potatoes.

Step 4: Wrap peeled or unpeeled sweet potatoes loosely in plastic wrap (prick with a fork in a few places first) and microwave 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. (Use the Potato setting if your microwave has one.)

Step 5: Mash cooked sweet potato and blend with butter and a little milk for a smooth puree. Add brown sugar plus cinnamon, cloves or ginger if you wish. A well-cooked sweet potato will mash almost instantly with just a fork.

There are several kinds of sweet potato. You’re most likely to see the light yellow, drier variety, and a darker, moister, sweeter variety, often mislabeled as a yam. You can use either variety of sweet potato, moist or dry, in recipes, but not both together, as they have different cooking times. The dry variety cooks more quickly than the moist variety.

See the Related eHows for more sweet potato recipes.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Wrap the potato in foil.

Poke holes in the foil.

For smaller potatoes, bake for 50 minutes.

To bake a large potato it usually takes around or just over 1 hour to fully cook through.

Feel the potato (With a hot mitt!) and see how pliable it is. If it still feels hard, leave it in for a few more minutes.

A general guideline for how long to bake a potato is see how hard the center is. If it’s easy to stick a fork or knife through, it should be done.