You can’t find a simpler, more satisfying side dish than the baked potato. At the very most you require three ingredients–at the least, just one. Yet you may feel your potatoes never turn out to be quite the same as restaurant quality. The perfect baked potato is fluffy, evenly cooked, and has a crisp or soft skin done exactly to your taste. It’s not difficult to achieve–here’s how.

A baked potato can only be as good as the potato you start with, so choose one that’s ripe. Under ripe potatoes will have a greenish tone; over ripe potatoes will have discolored spots or begin to produce roots from the eyes. Russet potatoes are a good variety to use.

Scrub the potato thoroughly, and allow it to dry. If you want your potato to have a soft skin, rub it with olive oil or vegetable oil. You can also salt the skin, if you oil it first. If you prefer a crisper skin, no oil is necessary. Don’t wrap the potato in foil. While this will result in a soft skin, you’re essentially steaming the potato, rather than baking it, by trapping its own moisture within. Poke a few holes in the skin of the potato with a fork–this will let some of the expanding air out, so your potato won’t split while baking, and dry out.

And finally, bake it. 45 minutes at 400 degrees, or 60 minutes at 350 degrees.