Parker House Rolls Recipe from King Arthur Baking

I decided to make dinner rolls that are a variation on the famous Parker House Rolls from the Omni Parker House hotel in Boston. They appeared on King Arthur Baking’s website, and, even though they were a bit complicated, I decided to dive in. Besides, who doesn’t love buttery soft rolls? Exactly. I’ll link you to the complete recipe and give you my thoughts, photos, and tips on what I would do differently next time. But, in short, you should give this a try!

Parker House Rolls Ingredients

360 Grams King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 1/2 Teaspoons Instant Yeast

39 Grams Sugar

1 1/4 Teaspoons (8g) Salt

50 Grams Dried Instant Mashed Potato Flakes

43 Grams Butter

227 Grams Milk

1 Large Egg

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons (50g to 57g) butter, melted; for brushing on rolls

Parker House Rolls Steps

Click here for the full recipe on the King Arthur Baking website.

Tips for Making Parker House Rolls

Tip 1: If I make this recipe again, I will knead the dough by hand rather than in the stand mixer. It’s much easier to get an idea of how wet and sticky the dough is when working it by hand.

Tip 2: I thought the dough was way too wet and foolishly added too much flour when shaping it before the rise. This resulted in slightly drier rolls when finished, and they didn’t rise quite as much as I had hoped in the final bake.

Tip 3: Don’t start the bake if they don’t look as puffy as you would like. Some kitchens are cooler than others, and it might take slightly longer than an hour to get that puffy consistency. I went by the specified timings, and it also impacted how much they would expand in the oven.

Tip 4: They needed more butter. I was cautious with adding the butter with the pastry brush, and I should have gone for it. That’s an easy fix, though – just serve them with more butter and jam.

Parker House Rolls Recipe Test Photos

warmed milk and egg mix Parker House Rolls Baking Those Someday Goals

Parker House Rolls Recipe Wet Shaggy Dough Baking Those Someday Goals — The dough was really wet! Resist the temptation to add more flour.

Dough ready to rise Parker House Rolls Baking Those Someday Goals

Dough nearly doubled in size Parker House Rolls Baking Those Someday Goals

Divide the dough Parker House Rolls Recipe Baking Those Someday Goals

Adding butter to dough Parker House Rolls Recipe Baking Those Someday Goals

Parker House Rolls Recipe Measuring the Dough Baking Those Someday Goals

Measure and Fold Dough Parker House Rolls Baking Those Someday Goals

Measure, folding, and cut Parker House Rolls Recipe Baking Those Someday Goals

Parker House Rolls Recipe Cut dough Baking Those Someday Goals — Ready to bake

Parker House Rolls Recipe Ready for Egg Wash Baking Those Someday Goals — They didn’t rise as much as I had hoped.

Parker House Rolls Recipe Final Baking Those Someday Goals — They tasted nice, but more like a biscuit than a fluffy dinner roll. I think I added too much flour, and I should have kneaded it by hand.

Overall Recipe Impressions

I like this recipe, but it needed more time and concentration than I gave. There’s a lot of measuring! I also needed to accept that the dough can sometimes be wet and not feel pressured into adding flour. Despite the small things I would change, the rolls were still perfectly delightful, and we ate every one of them. I will be making Parker House Rolls again!

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