Parker House Rolls
One of my first jobs was at the NYC restaurant, Quality Meats. Everyday, the evening crew’s first gig (and the early crew’s last) was to make, shape and bake the HUNDREDS of rolls that hit the countless covers every evening. Although it seems like a daunting task, there’s something therapeutic about feeling the dough beneath your palms, all while making circular motions to shape the slightly larger than a golf ball-sized rolls.
This is my version, which although simplified to some degree, are still going to take some time before they’re ready to adorn your table. Aside from scaling and shaping the dough, your stand mixer is going to do a lot of the work, and time will take care of the rest. I promise the process is worth it!
This makes A LOT of rolls! When I make these, I am usually heading to a dinner with many guests, so more is more! You can freeze leftover rolls and reheat them, but honestly, they’re not nearly as good!
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- ½ cup warm water, between 81 and 100 degrees
- 3 7-ounce packets instant dry yeast
- 2 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 8 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, preferably King Arthur
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted European-style butter, softened, plus more for greasing
For the topping:
- Salted European-style butter, softened
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Make the rolls. In the bowl of a mixer stand, whisk the warm water and yeast until the yeast is fully dissolved, let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, salt and sugar and, using the hook attachment, mix until the bulk of the flour has been incorporated.
- Add the butter, a little at a time, and mix until it is fully incorporated into the dough, then, with the mixer on medium-low, knead until the dough is smooth, for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough, fold it over itself a couple times, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, grease (7) 5-inch pans generously with butter and preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
- Using a kitchen scale, portion the dough into 39- to 41-gram pieces.
- On a clean work surface, working one at a time, using your dominant hand, press down on the dough with your palm while making small circular motions until the dough is the same consistency, then begin to cup your hand, still moving in a circular motion, and begin to pull away from the dough to form a tight ball.
- Place six balls into each pan, lightly cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap, and allow the dough to proof once again until the rolls have risen enough to fill the pan and are springy to the touch, approximately 15 minutes.
- Bake until golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer reaches 190-degrees when inserted into the center roll, for about 25 minutes.
- Using a pastry brush, generously coat the tops of the rolls with butter and add a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt before serving. Serve with additional salted butter
Notes
- Proofing times will vary based on the room temperature.
- You can make the rolls earlier in the day that you plan on serving them. Reheat them until warmed through in a 400-degree oven before topping with butter and salt right before serving.
- While the rolls are significantly better when consumed on the day they’re made, you can also freeze the cooled rolls tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Remove the rolls from the plastic wrap and wrap in aluminum foil. Heat until warmed through, then generously brush with butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
