Parker House rolls are individual servings of bread made by flattening dough, cutting it in circles, and folding the circles over to make crescent shapes. They are named for the place where they were first made, the Parker House Hotel in Boston, in the 1870s. It’s been told that an angry baker threw unfinished roll dough into an oven, causing the finished product to have a folded appearance. A recipe for the rolls is included in Fannie Farmer’s The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, published in 1896.
Recipe Servings: 30
Prep Time
20 minutes
+ 1 hour 20 minutes resting
+ 1 hour 20 minutes resting
Cook Time
20 minutes
Total Time
2 hours
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 2 packets (¼ oz each) active dry yeast
- 1 tsp and 6 Tbsp sugar, divided
- 1 cup warm water, divided (110–115°f)
- 1 cup warm milk (110–115°f)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp and 2 tsp canola oil
- 5½–6 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- Nonstick cooking spray, as needed to grease bowl and baking sheets
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted (optional)
Directions
- Stir together the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and ½ cup warm water in a large bowl. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk, salt, egg, oil, 2 cups of flour, remaining ½ cup warm water, and 6 tablespoons of sugar. Beat the mixture until smooth using an electric mixer on medium speed.
- Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it for about 6–8 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
- Grease a large bowl using nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 45 minutes.
- Grease baking sheets using nonstick cooking spray.
- Punch down the dough. Transfer it to a floured surface and divide it into two equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough to a ½-inch thickness.
- Cut the dough using a 2½-inch biscuit cutter. Brush the circles of dough with melted butter, if using.
- Crease each circle slightly off-center using the dull edge of a knife. Fold the circle at the crease and press the edges of the dough together lightly.
- Place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest until they have doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden-brown. Most likely they will need to be baked in multiple batches.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
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