Set the air fryer to 200C, rub the skin with oil and salt, and give a baking potato 40 to 50 minutes, checking it at the 20 minute mark. BBC Food and Good Food land on that same method. Where they part company is the microwave shortcut, and how long the air fryer needs after it.
more
Which potato to buy
A floury one. BBC Food suggests anything labelled as a baker, or a variety such as King Edward, Maris Piper, Vivaldi or Estima.
Weight changes the timing. BBC Food’s small potato weighs around 225g and its large one around 350g. Good Food cooks four potatoes of about 250g each in one batch.
Getting the skin ready
Both recipes scrub the potato and oil the skin. Good Food pats the potatoes dry with kitchen paper first, then works half a tablespoon of sunflower oil into four skins by hand. BBC Food leaves the choice of oil open between rapeseed, vegetable and sunflower.
Salt helps the skin crisp up. Good Food seasons every potato for that reason. BBC Food makes the salt optional, while noting it gives a crispier finish.
Cold basket, not a hot one
BBC Food puts the potato into the air fryer before switching it on at 200C. Its reason is that a preheated basket can burn the skin while the middle is still hard. Good Food does not say either way. It asks only that the potatoes sit in a single layer.
How long it takes
At 200C, plan for 40 to 50 minutes. Good Food gives that range for its 250g potatoes. BBC Food gives 40 minutes for a small potato and 45 to 50 for a large one.
Open the basket at 20 minutes. BBC Food turns the potato over at that point. Good Food turns its batch with tongs only if one side is browning faster than the other, then checks again 20 minutes later.
The doneness test is a knife. It should slide into the centre without resistance. If it meets some, BBC Food carries on a minute at a time. Good Food warns that both the size of the potato and the model of air fryer shift the timing, so the knife matters more than the clock.
The microwave shortcut
Both recipes offer a microwave head start, with different numbers. BBC Food microwaves one potato on high for four minutes, turns it, and gives it four more. Two potatoes may need an extra two minutes. The potato then crisps in the air fryer for 10 minutes.
Good Food microwaves on high for 8 to 10 minutes, then air fries and checks after 15 to 20 minutes. The microwave stage is much the same in both. Good Food expects the air fryer stage to run longer.
Why use the air fryer at all
BBC Food and Good Food make the same two claims. An air fryer uses less energy than an oven, and it cooks the potato faster. BBC Food puts the time at about half the usual. Neither recipe gives a figure for the energy saving.
Good Food’s nutrition panel reads 2g of fat and 0.4g of saturates per potato, before toppings.
What goes on top
BBC Food offers three toppings. One mixes grated cheddar with diced tomato and jarred jalapeño. Another mashes a ripe avocado with lime or lemon juice and scatters seeds on top. The third warms a 227g tin of baked beans with half a teaspoon of curry powder.
Good Food keeps to the classics: butter, cheese, baked beans or tuna mayonnaise, served as soon as the potato is split.
