Something about homemade Parker House rolls sounded sooo good to me. Warm, soft, and fragrant. They were calling to me. This recipe is from Food Network Magazine. It definitely felt like a “project.” Now, I must admit that I tweaked the recipe because I don’t like to bake with just plain white flour. There have to be whole grains. So I did half and half in this recipe. I think it probably affected the texture a bit, but I also just could not get these to rise as much as they should have, so that was disappointing. The verdict? They were good, but a little dense and I had a difficult time getting them to bake through without getting too brown on the outside. Tricky. I think I might attempt it again another time, but I cannot imagine having just made this recipe cold for Thanksgiving.
1 packet yeast
1/2 cup sugar
7 1/2-8 cups flour (I used half white, half wheat)
12 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing the tops
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp kosher salt

Place yeast in bowl with 1/2 cup warm water (between 110 and 120 degrees) and add sugar and whisk. Let sit 1 minute then stir in 1 cup flour.

In a mixer with the dough hook, mix melted butter with milk. Add eggs then add yeast and 6 1/2 cups flour and salt. Mix until dough forms a ball. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour if it is too wet and sticky (I had to add this). Allow to rise in a buttered bowl for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, until it doubles.

Preheat oven to 375. Press the dough into a 16 x 8 inch rectangle and cut the dough in half the long way then cut each half into 12 strips. Take a strip and fold one side under, about 2/3 of the way. Then fold the other end of the strip under enough to just cover the end of the other side. Place the rolls on a parchment paper covered sheet in three rows (the long way). Bake 18-20 minutes until the tops are brown. Remove from oven and brush with more butter and sprinkle with salt.

Mine had to bake 30 minutes and were still not quite cooked all the way through.Everyone liked these – it was a treat to have dinner rolls. I’ve never made them before and I don’t buy store rolls, so we only have them in restaurants, which is once in a blue moon. This was a fun project to make and I’m glad I gave it a try.

Something about homemade Parker House rolls sounded sooo good to me. Warm, soft, and fragrant. They were calling to me. This recipe is from Food Network Magazine. It definitely felt like a “project.” Now, I must admit that I tweaked the recipe because I don’t like to bake with just plain white flour. There have … Read more →