Homemade Parker House Dinner Rolls
These buttery pull-apart rolls are delicious.
Like really, really delicious.
Like died and gone to heaven delicious.
Like give me a stick of butter, a pan of these rolls and leave me alone delicious.
These hunks of gluten love can be made ahead which, for me, just adds to the deliciousness. I’m all about recipes that can successfully be made ahead- it makes me less stressed which in turn makes everyone around me happier.
This recipe is from the November issue of Food Network Magazine. Alex Guarnaschelli, host of Alex’s Day Off, did a great three page photo spread on how to make these rolls. For someone who doesn’t bake with yeast a lot, the tutorial was much appreciated. As a side note, how can you not love a chef who owns a restaurant named Butter? A woman after my own heart..
I made these a week before Thanksgiving and froze without being baked. I then pulled them out the morning of the big and baked them off. Nothing like a house filled with the aroma of baking bread. I doubled the recipe so we would have plenty of leftovers to make turkey sandwiches- a good call indeed- they made awesome sandwiches. They were so good in fact, I’m making them again for Christmas. They are officially my new favorite dinner roll. Enjoy!
Happy Baking!
PrintHomemade Parker House Dinner Rolls
Description
These buttery rolls are pure comfort food. Easy to make and great to make ahead, it’s a perfect recipe for Thanksgiving or any other busy holiday.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4-ounce packet of active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 7 1/2–8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
- 2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Measure out 1/2 cup warm water that is between 110-120 degrees. It should feel like comfortable bath water temperature. Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl, add the warm water and whisk in the sugar. Let sit 1 minute (it should bubble and froth slightly), then gently stir in 1 cup flour; set aside near the stove while you prepare the dough.
- Mix the melted butter and milk in a mixer with the hook attachment on low speed.
- Add the eggs and mix until blended.
- Scrape in the yeast mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Add 6 1/2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon salt; mix until the dough forms a ball, 2 to 3 minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky.
- Brush a large bowl with softened butter.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The dough should double in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dust a clean surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it.
- Flour your hands; gently press the dough into a 16-by-8 inch rectangle, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (don’t use a rolling pin).
- With the short side in front of you, cut the dough in half length wise and flour the knife. Then slice crosswise into 12 strips.
- One at a time, fold each strip of dough unevenly in half so the top part slightly overlaps the bottom half, then tuck the overhang underneath. Place the rolls seam side down on the prepared baking sheet in 3 tightly packed rows. (Leave an inch or two between rows so the rolls rise up together in oven.)
- IF MAKING ROLLS IN ADVANCE, WRAP THE BAKING SHEET TIGHTLY WITH PLASTIC WRAP AND FREEZE UP TO 3 WEEKS.
- Bake until the rolls are bursting at the seams and golden brown, 18-20 minutes. (If frozen, bake 25 minutes and 325F degrees, then 10 minutes at 375F degrees.) Remove from the oven and brush with softened butter. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.
30 Comments
These look and sound amazing!
They are- indulgent and delicious!
Hello! I’m late to the party but I want to try making these!
When you talk about cutting the dough into strips…is the first cut taking your 16 X 8 inch rectangle and making it two 8X8 squares? Or are you making two 16X 4 inch rectangles with the first cut?
When you fold, your written description says to “tuck the slight overhang” underneath, but your finished picture looks more like it was folded in even thirds.
Sorry for all the questions….I am a bread novice so I don’t want to screw it up!
Hi! I just tried to make these, but they didn’t rise at all
🙁 I read it as one 1/4 oz packet of yeast. Is that right? Or is it 1 AND a 1/4 oz packet of yeast….if so how much is that in teaspoons?? Thanks! These look really great, so I hope to get them right!
You read it correctly– It’s 1 (one) 1/4 oz packet yeast. Off the top of my head, I don’t know how many teaspoons this is. I’m sorry your rolls didn’t turn out. Was your yeast fresh? Sometimes if it’s old, it won’t activate. Or if the water is too cold or too hot it won’t activate either. Here is original recipe that I used if you’d like to check it out as well. Good luck next time!
I just made the dough for these and we will be enjoying them tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I made them a couple of weeks ago for a dinner party and they were “melt in your mouth” delicious! Thank you for sharing 🙂
You’re so welcome! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi there–i sought this recipe out as I live at a mile high and struggle sometimes baking at altitude. I made these for Thanksgiving and they turned out done on the outside but alot of them were nearly raw dough inside. I am perplexed as to what exactly I need to do differently, as I’m still planning to use the recipe for Christmas dinner.
Here are a few possible solutions, let me know if I’m on the right track:
Should they be defrosted before baking? I froze mine last time and just popped them out of the freezer and into the oven last time.
Wondering if I should have kneaded the dough longer?
Maybe using some bread flour or whole wheat flour could help?
Maybe I should turn the temp up?
Please let me know if you have any guidance, thanks!
Gosh. It’s so hard to know where it went wrong. If you bake from frozen then, yes, you definitely need to add baking time and and/or turn up the oven temp a bit. You definitely need to make sure you knead the dough. Check to make sure your oven is calibrated to the right temperature. You don’t need to replace the all-purpose flour with bread or whole wheat. Good luck!
I made these for our Thanksgiving meal tonight! They were amazing! I have been very unhappy with making rolls at 6000 ft. My whole family was SUPER happy with these! Thanks for sharing!
The milk should read 1 cup rather than 2 cups on the Parker house rolls? On mountainmanacooks.com.. Right??
I had to put 10 cups of flour in because it was too wet and sticky… Please advise. Thank you
Just got my first KitchenAid stand mixer & thought I’d kickstart my novice baking experience with this recipe. They turned out great from my perspective but some might think they’re a bit doughy. The top & bottom crusts were perfect so I didn’t want to bake them longer than 20 minutes. The doughy center might’ve been because I didn’t have whole milk so I used 1 cup skim & 1 cup half & half. Any tips?
Maybe you could lower the heat in your oven and cook them a few minutes longer next time. And perhaps use 1 1/2 cups milk and just 1/2 cup of half & half.
Thanks! I’ll try that next time. I took this first batch to work with me and they were gone in an hour so maybe they weren’t too doughy after all!
Can these be made if I don’t have a stand mixer with dough hooks? I only have a hand mixer.
A hand mixer won’t work. You can knead the dough by hand but it will take awhile so be prepared!!
So are these for high altitude? I am so nervous to bake rolls from scratch esp since I just learned it’s tricky with “normal” recipes. Thanks!
I live at 7000 feet and these work great every time I make them. They’re a great recipe for higher altitude!
These were amazing! So easy to follow(my first time doing rolls!) my family all loved them and agreed I need to bring rolls every year now. They were soooo good! Thanks!
You are so welcome! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them!!
These came out great! I made the f Christmas dinner and they were a big hit. Perfect for high altitude.
I made these rolls and substituted the milk and butter for Cashew milk and margarine and they were fantastic. I also kneaded them by hand and it was fine. Thanks for this awesome recipe!! My family loved it!
Sorry I might be reading this wrong. It does this recipe make 24 rolls? Or 12?
Also, if I just wanted to roll them in a normal roll shape would they still bake correctly??
Sorry, I’m also a bread novice!
It makes 24
Made this today! I recently moved to Montana and am having to relearn to bake. These turned out AMAZING! I’m gonna keep these in rotation for everything now, they were so easy to do, thank you!
You are so welcome!!!
Hi, just made these for Thanksgiving at 6,400 ft in Tahoe. They were a huge hit. I made the dough the night before and modified it with a double rise. I was too tired so I put the dough ball straight into the fridge in an oiled bowl covered with Saran Wrap. It rose overnight and in the morning I removed the dough, shaped it into bins and let them rise at room temp covered with a warm damp towel for 30 mins before baking. It worked perfectly. I also brushed with egg whites before baking instead of butter.
I am 0/5 at making a decent, let alone an awesome roll at Thanksgiving! I did a dress rehearsal with these and also found them dense. I threw out the first two yeast mixtures because they didn’t seem to “blossom” and ended up using pizza crust yeast (which probably explains a lot). But, recipe seems it’s missing the stage where after forming rolls you let rise again? BTW I have fresh yeast for today! Thoughts?
I’ve made these twice and they were doughy both times. Trying again today and I am going to make them a little smaller. Making 24 they turned out huge and don’t rise well, I think that is the trick. Then I’ll have enough for two parties!
I realized 1 ¾ oz of yeast is two packets, I melted the butter in the milk, and made 48 instead of 24. Got rave reviews and 16 people ate ALL of them, I’m so happy this recipe helped me master The Roll.