I made a tastier and crispier baked potato with 1 simple ingredient chef insists on using

Baked potatoes are my go-to comfort food, especially on days when I don't fancy slaving over a hot stove. I'm always experimenting with new ways to cook this humble vegetable to achieve that perfect crispy and tasty finish. I've previously tried microwaving a jacket potato and following an air-fried baked potato recipe from a chef —both methods yielded excellent results.

This time, I decided to stick to the traditional oven-baked method, but with a twist inspired by Chef Sylvia Fountaine, culinary expert and founder of Feasting at Home. According to her recipe, the secret ingredient is salt—not just any salt, but sea or kosher salt. I opted for sea salt and was delighted to find that my baked potato emerged from the oven tastier and crispier than ever.

The rationale behind using salt is its natural absorbency, which helps to draw out excess moisture, allowing the skin to crisp up beautifully and form a delicious crust without hardening the potato.

In addition to salt, you'll need some oil. I found that extra-virgin olive oil works best as it imparts a superior flavour.

The most challenging part of this baked potato technique was the waiting game, but the end result was well worth it. The salt crust on the skin significantly enhanced the potato's natural flavour.

Firstly, you need to wash your potato thoroughly before piercing the vegetable at least three times with a fork to allow steam to escape. This prevents the potato from bursting in the oven's heat.

I then drizzled extra virgin olive oil on, ensuring the entire potato was covered and gave it a thorough rub with some sea salt.

Whilst I would normally wrap a potato in tin foil before placing it in the oven, the chef advised against this and simply recommended popping it on a baking tray in the centre of the oven.

The chef explained that wrapping the potato in foil traps steam, resulting in a soggy outcome.

I left the potato in the oven for an hour as advised; however, I discovered that it required an additional 15 minutes.

To ensure my baked potatoes had a "fluffy, not gummy" interior texture, I immediately cut them with a knife to release the remaining steam.

Once they're beautifully golden on top, turn off the oven but leave the potatoes inside for an extra five minutes—this will give their skin an additional crispy edge.

When you finally retrieve your tray, you'll be greeted with the crispiest, most delicious baked potatoes you've ever created.

For the finishing touch, I gently squeezed the piping hot potato with a tea towel, fluffed the inside with a fork, and piled on some butter.

Whilst I just kept mine quite plain, there are so many options to jazz up a baked potato. Mary Berry has three "posh fillings" that she loves.