Well, as a passionate bread eater I prefer my hearty German rye-sourdough bread filled with wheat and rye grains, but every now and then I bake something to satisfy the common American taste for soft wheat-based bread. I received raving comments about the Parker House Rolls I made yesterday, and I have to admit I enjoyed them thoroughly, too.

I found the recipe in the March/April 2010 issue of the Yankee magazine, and the photo of the rolls was enough motivation to try and bake them. First, I will repeat the original recipe and instructions. I did, however, experience some minor trouble with it, and I will explain why later. See also remarks I added in red.

Parker House Rolls

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours (plus rising)
Active Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen rolls

6 cups flour (approxim.) plus extra for work surface
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup (1/2 pound, or 2 sticks) butter (or margarine),  softened, divided, plus extra for bowl
2 cups hot tap water
1 large egg

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer with hook attachment), combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (or margarine). With your mixer on low speed, gradually pour 2 cups hot tap water (120 – 130 degrees F) into the dry ingredients. Add egg. Increase mixer speed to medium; beat two minutes, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in 3/4 cup flour, or enough to make a thick batter. Continue beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl. Then with a spoon, stir in enough additional flour (about 2 1/2 cups) to make a soft dough (see my remarks below). Turn dough onto a slightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in more flour (about 1/2 cup) while kneading. Shape dough into a ball and place in large greased bowl (seam side up). Turn dough over so that the top is greased. Cover with a towel; let rise in a warm place until volume doubles, about 1 1/2 hours.

“Punch” dough down: Push down in the center, then push the edges into the center. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly to make a smooth ball. Cover with a bowl for 15 minutes, and let dough rest. Heat your oven to 400 F (actually don’t; wait another 30 minutes to do so). In a 17 1/4 x 11 1/2 inch roasting pan, over low heat, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter and spread in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. On a lightly floured surface with a flowered rolling pin, roll dough out 1/2 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4 inch round biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut dough into circles (don’t twist). Holding each dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted butter; fold in half.

Arrange folded dough circles in rows, each nearly touching the next, in the roasting pan. Cover the pan with a towel; let dough rise in a warm place until volume doubles, about 40 minutes. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until browned.

My Comments

Okay, I am snobby and I use the good King Arthur flour. After all, the King Arthur facility plus signature store is about an hour and half by car North of us. That may be the reason why I was forced to use only 5 1/2 cups of flour total. However, the differences to flours of other mills are not that dramatic. Naturally, humidity plays a major part on how much water and flour you will need, but I do believe that 6 cups of flour are more than enough. Again, I used 5 1/2, and next time I will use only 5 to make a lighter dough. You can try to incorporate 6 cups, but I believe that will increase the rolls’ density too far.

Also, where the recipe calls for adding about 2 1/2 cups of flour, that was the point where my wife’s 300 Watt Kitchen Aid mixer started to make noises, and that is never a good sign. So, I took out the dough and continued on my kneading board. The next problem I saw was with the 1/2 inch thickness of the rolled dough and getting 24 rolls out of it. Could be I applied too much of German engineering, while the 1/2 inch number in the recipe is only a guesstimate, but I was unable to get 24 pieces. I don’t think that the missing 1/2 cup of flour played a major part in that scenario. What I am trying to say is, see how it works for you, and if the yield turns out to only 20 rolls, that’s just fine.

One other deviation on my part was that I did not run my oven for 40+ minutes to reach temperature. I know, it is recommended to heat up your oven way ahead of time to ensure an even temperature over the baking time, but that really applies only to more complex recipes. A “simple” wheat dough like this is very forgiving, and, after all, my method saved some energy.

All in all, the rolls were delicious, even with my slight adjustments. Enjoy!

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