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 sprinkle with finishing salt, if desired.
- Bake for 25 minutes, turn the baking dish 180° and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden-brown.
- Transfer the rolls out of the baking dish onto a wire rack and brush the top of each piece with butter. Let cool for about 20 minutes and brush again with butter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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.