Parkerhouse Rolls Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why did my homemade rolls get hard? ›

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

Why Do They Call Them Parker House Rolls? Legend has it that Parker House Rolls derive their name from the Parker House Hotel, which opened in Boston in the 1800s. The story goes that an angry baker tossed a batch of unfinished rolls into the oven—and this style of roll is the result of that happenstance event.

Brush tops of rolls with melted butter or margarine for best results or spray with cooking spray. Step 2: Thaw: Let dough thaw in a warm place (up to 100 degrees) free from drafts, for 1-2 hours or covered in refrigerator overnight.

If your dough is slightly hard and not dry, you can try to soften it by kneading the dough between your fingers or rolling it between your hands (clean of course, to avoid mixing dust or dirt with the dough).

Over-kneading can cause dense dough. Knead only until the dough is smooth. A slow rise may also mean your kitchen is too cold. In that case, just pop the dough in a cold oven (do not turn it on!) and place a pan of boiling water on the rack underneath.

To reheat the Parker house rolls, cover the pan with foil and place into a 350°f / 180°c oven for 10-15 minutes to re-warm, then remove the foil and warm for a further 2 minutes or so with the foil off to make sure there isn't any moisture hiding on the rolls, then finish with the melted butter.

A Parker House roll is a bread roll made by flattening the center of a ball of dough with a rolling pin so that it becomes an oval shape, and then folding the oval in half. They are made with milk and are generally quite buttery, soft, and slightly sweet with a crispy shell.

If you don't have a large 11 inch cast iron pan, you can use a glass baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. A 9×13 size would work well. It's best to have the rolls all touching each other when you arrange them in the pan, and I'll tell you why…

Too much flour results in a dry, crumbly dough that's unpleasant and difficult to work with. It doesn't stick to itself and tends to fall apart when kneaded.

Non-rising dough may be the result of thawed and refrozen product. Characteristics of thawed and refrozen product are ice crystals or dough which has been clumped together or misshaped and flattened.

How long does it take to thaw Parker House rolls? ›

The day you want to serve them, take as many rolls as you want out of the freezer; place them in a pan; and let them thaw/rise for 4 to 5 hours or so. Bake. Enjoy.

Stay fresh: Both the fat from the milk and butter preserve the freshness of these soft dinner rolls and keeps them soft for a days. The fat keeps the rolls from drying out! Soft: The perfect ratio of flour to fat to liquid makes these dinner rolls uber soft.

If you only have a fan oven, it's hard to keep them really soft; it helps to cook them at a lower temperature, maybe 170°C or even 160°C, and to wrap them in a clean tea towel immediately after cooking.

You're probably not developing the gluten enough. Could also be too low hydration, or maybe under-proofed.

Refrigeration pulls moisture from bread, which speeds up the staling process and causes the bread to dry out. For longer storage, freeze the bread. Most yeast breads and rolls freeze well. To freeze, wrap securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in freezer bags.