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.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, these are to die for, and if you keep the whole recipe for yourself--well you may just die...
Here is the step by step with pictures if you want it.


Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls
Added by Ree on September 3, 2009 in Breads, Sweet Rolls

Prep Time 2 Hours Cook Time 30 Minutes

Servings 8

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter (not gonna melt mine see 1st tip below)
• 2 cups Sugar (some people use brown sugar here)
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar (2 lbs)
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee (obviously optional)
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.
Note: My rolls don’t work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.

NOTES:
Now since she claims these are the BEST EVER, she has had about a million questions on them.  So she did another post answering some major questions. 
Then below that post there are a bunch more comments (about 400 right now), with more ideas for the rolls.  I have copied a few that I thought would be important to me later. 

Tip #1
???Is there a reason to melt the butter? I let the butter soften and then smear it on. Less mess and it melts when it bakes but I’m willing to change if it makes a difference.
Annie B On Friday, October 1 at 11:30 am

I’ve done that, too and it really does cut down on the messiness oozing out. I’ve done it both ways and haven’t noticed any difference. They taste amazing any which why they’re made.

Tip #2
Kirsten is Comfortably Domestic On Friday, October 1 at 9:19 pm

I had never made a cinnamon roll that I liked, until this one. I freeze some unbaked, and before rising (along with a portion of icing in a separate container.) The night before I want them, I take a pan of rolls & some icing out of the freezer right before going to bed. I take off the foil and leave the plastic wrap on loosely, and set them on the counter overnight. By morning, they have thawed, risen, and are ready to bake.
(I have personally frozen them after baking and just made up fresh frosting when I thawed them.  I also saw a tip to bake them mostly, then freeze, then finish cooking when you pull them out.)

Tip #3

Emily On Friday, October 1 at 11:30 am

You forgot to say that the dough makes AWESOME dinner rolls! I swear so yummy. I made just four rolls to try last time and I regret not making a double batch to freeze. Next time I will have two pots going….one for cinnamon rolls and one for dinner rolls!!! THANK YOU PW, you rock.
(OH, this tips so excites me!!  I am making some now that I will use for Thanksgiving day rolls!! :)

Tip #4

Marie On Friday, October 1 at 2:50 pm

I put mine in a pot and covered it well with plastic wrap and it easily lasted for 1 week. I have also kept half the dough in the fridge and froze the other half ( in a air tight container). Once I was ready to make the other half, I took it out of the freezer and let it thaw completely on the counter (do not microwave). Then carry on like normal (make sure to rise well before baking)
You can also make the buns (without baking) and then leave them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. Sometimes I will place each individual bun in a large size muffin tin. This way I can easily only bake 6 and they are easier to serve neatly.
(This would be like Rhoades rolls--great idea!)

Tip #5

Heather D. On Friday, October 1 at 12:05 pm

P-dub, I’ve been making these at Christmas for a few years, and they are a colossal hit.
I have been combining the melted butter and cinnamon sugar into a paste, which I then spread all over the dough with the back of a spoon. It doesn’t make as much of a mess that way.