Classic Parker House Rolls Recipe

If you're looking to add a touch of classic American cuisine to your next meal, there's no better way to do it than with a batch of homemade Parker House rolls, named after the Parker House Hotel in Boston where they were created. This yeast bread roll has been a favorite since the late 1800s and for good reason. They are soft, fluffy, slightly sweet and are the perfect accompaniment to any meal.

Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "I think my favorite thing about these rolls is the distinctive crease in the middle of the roll that makes them stand out and look noticeably different from a standard roll. Plus, they are slightly sweet making them versatile enough to serve with any meal of the day. The process of making them involves similar steps to traditional bread making in terms of letting the dough rise twice, but if you are home during the day anyway, the steps are easy and don't take much time."

To make this recipe, we have a short list of basic ingredients. From the pantry, grab some all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and active dry yeast. Then we'll need some milk, butter, hot water, and an egg. "We're using unsalted butter here but if all you have is salted, that is fine to use, and you can just omit the salt in the recipe," Hahn explains.

The first step in making the dough is letting the yeast activate. Combine the hot water and the milk to get a lukewarm mixture. Pour this into a small bowl and spread the yeast on top and stir gently. Let this sit for 10 minutes until the top is bubbly. While you are waiting for the yeast to activate, pull out a large bowl and combine 3 tablespoons of butter, with the salt, and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer, then add the egg and yeast mixture.

Begin adding the flour one cup at a time and beat with the hand mixer again. "No need to get too precise with the hand mixer because we'll just use it to quickly combine the ingredients. Then we'll remove it from the bowl and knead it on a floured work surface for 5 minutes," Hahn explains. Place the dough into a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray, cover it, and let it sit for one hour.

After the dough has been resting for an hour, it will have doubled in size. Remove it from the bowl and place it back onto the floured work surface. Roll it out to ½-inch thickness and then cut out twelve 3-inch circles using a cookie cutter or a small cup or dish. "You will most likely need to gather the scraps and roll out more dough to get the last 2 or 3 circles cut," Hahn explains.

To give our rolls a nice buttery inside, brush each circle with the remaining melted butter and fold it in half to make a half circle, pinching the edges together. "Legend has it that a disgruntled baker at the hotel threw a batch of dough at a misbehaving co-worker and it ended up in the signature folded shape," Hahn shares. Place all the shaped dough pieces into a 9 x 12-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let this sit for 45 minutes. After it has been sitting for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Now that the rolls have done their second round of rising, place them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. It won't take long before you start smelling the amazing aroma of fresh bread baking. When you take them out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes before serving. "If you want them extra buttery, you can brush them with more butter while they are still warm," Hahn shares. The Parker House rolls pair nicely with a big pot of roasted tomato soup, grilled chicken legs, sandwiches, pasta, eggs, or just about anything! The rolls are best eaten fresh but will last for a couple of days if kept in an air-tight container on the counter.