Parker House Rolls

For the last two maybe three Thanksgiving's I have tried to make rolls.  Not that I have anything against Rhodes rolls, although I do have something against other store bought rolls, it is just that Thanksgiving is a time (in my opinion), where you make from scratch wonderful food to share with friends and family.  So, I really wanted to make some lovely rolls to share with my family. 

Well, I did it!!
I decided to see what the Pioneer Woman does for rolls, and it turns out that she uses the same recipe for her rolls that she uses for her Cinnamon Rolls, and those are delicious, so, I had to give it a try.


(Mine didn't look like this because I choose her alternative method of folding the dough and putting them in a pan standing up, like tacos, and putting them close together.)

Parker House Rolls (click on the title for step by step w/pictures.)
Added by Ree on November 21, 2010 in Breads, Dinner Rolls

Prep Time 3 Hours Cook Time 15 Minutes

Servings 36

Difficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 sticks 1 Cup Butter
• 1 cup Sugar
• 4-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• 1 cup (additional) All-purpose Flour
• 2 sticks Melted Butter (additional)

Preparation Instructions

Combine 4 cups milk, 2 sticks butter, (In the Cinnamon Rolls recipe this is oil not butter) and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, and when the mixture is hot (but not boiling) (oops mine kinda boiled) turn off heat and allow to cool to warmer than lukewarm, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Sprinkle in the yeast and 8 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 additional cup of flour. Stir to combine. (Here I put mine in the fridge overnight). (What I really did was put them on my back deck--what, I live in Alaska, the back deck is an extension of my fridge 6 mos out of the year.  Anyway, I just made them again and did the same thing, only difference was the temp outside was about 15-20* colder, my dough froze.  Let me just tell you kneading frozen dough hurts!  The rolls still turned out great and I rolled some into balls after the dough did its rising in the next step...I'll let you know how those turned out.  I also rolled some into cinnamon rolls and froze them without cooking.)  Divide dough in half, then turn out onto floured surface. Knead dough for 8 to 10 minutes, then form into a ball and cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. (Repeat with other half of dough, or store it for a later use.) (Or use it to make Cinnamon Rolls.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan. (I only used 1 stick and I had more than enough for half the bread.)
Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with a 2 1/2 inch cutter. Dunk each circle in melted butter, then immediately fold in half and place on a cookie sheet, flat side down. (Or put it a pan with higher sides standing up and put them close together so they hold their shape.  Another idea would be to put them in a muffin tin.) (This time I decided to be a rebel and I put them in a pan shaped as balls.)  Press lightly to encourage sealing. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with a towel and allow rolls to rise 30 to 45 minutes.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately!

Everything turned out perfect for me.  I was so excited by the results, and everyone loved them.  Yeah for me for making my first totally flawless batch of rolls, and Yeah to the Pioneer Woman for leading me safely through this recipe.