Our microwave is programmed, among other things, to cook baked potatoes. Once set, it runs for nine minutes. But the bottom of the potato ( where it contacts the round glass turntable) is invariably hard after that cooking time, too hard to eat. Is the time (and it’s a 1000-watt appliance) the cause for the hardening of the one side of the potato?
Ya gotta flip it over part way through. And you’re steaming it, not baking.
WHAT’S WITH THESE NO BAKE POTATOES???
yeah rotate the tater.
do 4 minutes the rotate and do 4 more minutes.
mmm spuds.
Thanks to both.
Yeah… great with butter or margarine, sour cream & chives. 
Even though it takes longer, I vastly prefer them baked; the texture is not the same, and the skin, which I usually eat, crisps nicely in an oven.
Nuking them is fine for mashed potatoes.
I nuke them for about 10 mins then finish in the oven for about 15-ish mins (after slathering the skin with olive oil.
this, only we toss them on the gas grill on the patio instead of the oven. Crisps up the skin quite nicely.
I wrap my potato in a wet paper towel and put it for 5 minutes. Then I flip it over and set it for 5 more minutes. They come out really good. I don’t eat the skin.
We have a plastic thing to lift the potatoes off the microwave oven floor and the bottom comes out just fine. It’s this one from the UK but they’re common.
The other question is do you pierce your potatoes before microwaving them? I’ve been told that’s NOT because they might explode, but instead it’s to prevent them from being so steamed. Our Sensor setting works just fine.
We wash them, skewer them thoroughly with a 2-tine kitchen fork, then nuke them.
The key to microwave baked potatoes is to use lower power. For a med-large size potato, I cook it at power 3 (out of 1-10) for 17 minutes. Sweet potatoes as well. They’re actually better than in a regular oven this way.
You’re welcome to them, Rock. I hate sweet potatoes.
I nuke a big washed potato till almost done (6 minutes?), coat in whatever oil, slather in coarse salt then blast in super hot oven (475?) while cooking rest of dinner (20 minutes or so). Delicious. No poking holes or skewering. Sometimes I put 'em on a cookie sheet just to make it easier.
ETA: I don’t flip. No hard spots. For variety, sometimes I cut them in half and adjust cooking times and technique.
This information isn’t very useful for the rest of us unless you also tell us the wattage of your oven.
Poke two or three fork holes in them 360° all the way around (at 90° intervals) and nuke it in a damp paper towel (I always just use the ‘POTATO’ button right on my microwave). Take it out and wrap it in aluminum foil and let it sit for a minute or two. They come out perfect…