Parker House Rolls
This is a wonderful recipe for our Edison-based Parker House Rolls. They come out very airy, springy, yet very rich and flavorful. Instead of traditional shaping, we chose to do things a little differently, which ended up being much easier and faster. This recipe is not low fat – it’s got enough butter to make Julia Child happy. And so, we hope, will be you!
By: Elle Cowan
Prep Time
20 minutes
Bake Time
45 minutes
Total Time
3 hours 30 minutes
Yield
20 rolls
Ingredients
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40g) water, warmed to 105-115°F
3 tablespoons (38g) granulated white sugar
1 ½ tablespoons (14g) instant yeast
1 stick, 8 tablespoons (113g) butter, melted
1 cup (245g) milk, warmed to 105-115°F
1 (50g) large egg
4 cups (508g) Edison flour
2 ½ teaspoons (15g) sea salt
2 tablespoons (30g) butter, melted (for topping and pan)
Egg wash: 1 egg + ½ teaspoon of water + pinch salt, lightly whisked
Optional: Finishing Salt
Baker's Notes
This dough, once mixed, is a dream to work with – soft, pliable, and not at all sticky. That is why you do not need to flour your work surface to portion the rolls.
We used a 7x10 baking dish. You may use a larger dish if you’d like – with more space to expand, you’ll have more round rolls. We like ours tall and proud.
Instructions
- In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine water, sugar and instant yeast. Whisk to combine.
- Add warmed milk and melted butter, whisk again to combine.
- Add egg, whisk to combine.
- Add flour and start mixing the dough with a dough hook.
- Once the liquid has mostly been absorbed, add the salt and continue to mix for roughly 4 minutes or until the dough has come together.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for one minute into a ball.
- Place the dough into a bowl lightly sprayed with oil, cover with a plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Mix the egg wash, strain and set aside.
- Butter your 7x10 baking dish liberally with melted butter and set aside.
- Turn the dough onto an unfloured surface and portion it into 20 equal pieces (50g/piece.)
- Roll each piece into a ball. Once you have shaped each piece, place them 4x5 in your buttered baking dish, buttering each side of each piece as you place it into your dish.
- Reserve the remaining butter to brush on top of the bread once it’s baked.
- Loosely cover with a plastic wrap and let rise at room temp for up to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Once the rolls are fully proofed, liberally brush them with the egg wash and add finishing salt on each piece, if desired.
- Bake for 25 minutes, turn and bake for another 20 or until golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack and brush the top of each piece with butter. Let cool and brush again with butter after 20 minutes.
- Remove from the baking dish and place onto the wire rack until fully cooled.
Baker's Notes
This dough, once mixed, is a dream to work with – soft, pliable, and not at all sticky. That is why you do not need to flour your work surface to portion the rolls.
We used a 7x10 baking dish. You may use a larger dish if you’d like – with more space to expand, you’ll have more round rolls. We like ours tall and proud.