3.01.2014

Everything Parker House Rolls


You all know, I'm not a big bread-baker. But when I do, it's more often than not dinner rolls. I made these last Thanksgiving and never got around to posting the recipe.
They turned out well, although not as picture 
perfect as the ones on the Sonoma webpage. Honestly, don't you sometimes wonder if they had to bake all afternoon to get those perfectly shaped and evenly browned rolls? I'd love to be behind the scenes on a shoot just to see what they do. Some of you have published cookbooks, what say you?
Oh well, the house was fragrant with that lovely yeast aroma while they were baking and they were lovely and light. The touch of salt, garlic and onion on top was a great idea. I froze a batch too. My old holiday standby has always been my recipe for 
cloverleaf rolls; time for a change. 
Lordy, I do love hot yeast rolls!

Everything Parker House Rolls
From the Williams Sonoma Kitchen 



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk 
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter 
4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast 
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 
3 tablespoons sugar 
1 tablespoons kosher salt 
1 1/2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes 
1/2 teaspoons dried garlic flakes 
1 teaspoons white sesame seeds 

Method:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and the 8 Tbs. butter. Heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105° to 115°F. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups flour, the sugar and kosher salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. 

Divide the dough in half.

Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into a log 12 inches long. Using a bench scraper, divide each log into 12 equal pieces. Using the cupped palm of your hand, roll and shape each piece into a taut ball.

Arrange the dough balls in the prepared baking pan so there are 4 rows of 6. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the Maldon sea salt, onion flakes, garlic flakes and sesame seeds.

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Brush the tops of the rolls with the 2 Tbs. melted butter and sprinkle with the sea salt mixture. Bake until the rolls are golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll registers 190°F, 18 to 20 minutes. Invert the rolls onto a wire rack, then turn them right side up onto another rack. Let cool slightly before serving. Makes 24 rolls.

23 comments:

  1. These rolls look like something I would like to just grab from the screen, fresh from the oven and slathered in butter.

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  2. I can just smell the lovely yeast! I think in the Joy of Cooking the recipe for Parker House rolls is the base for all kinds of roll recipes, including hot cross buns.

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  3. Haha ummm yeah, I think they almost certainly do bake a gazillion batches until one comes out perfect! They sound super!

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  4. I wish I had seen these before I satrted a small batch of rolls for company at lunch today..I think Noah..his sister and Mom would have maybe loved these more!
    I love that high puffy pull apart look..

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  5. I love rolls! These look amazing!! xx

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  6. Fluffy and extremely tempting!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  7. Ohh mi querida Barbara amo su rolls està de lujo,abrazos.

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  8. I'd love to think I could make these and they'd turn out as beautiful as yours. Thanks for posting the recipe Barbara.

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  9. I have never made anything that looks like the picture! Though yours look mighty fine to me!

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  10. I agree; your rolls are lovely, but I also know there are food staging artists whose job it is to make it look picture-perfect...

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  11. Those milk buns look so soft! I bring some soup over and let's lunch together :-))

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  12. When they do them they make a zillion and pick the best. They also usually have ovens with no hot spots like a convection. Also they have a zillion sneaky tricks to do everything!! You don't need to worry, yours look perfect to me. The smell of rolls in the oven is the best dinner bell in the world. Perfume.

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  13. Your rolls are lovely and you house must have smelled wonderful. My mother had freshly baked rolls or cornbread at every evening meal.
    Sam

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  14. Your rolls look perfect to me! And yes, I think they spend a lot of time and energy getting their food to look just right.

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  15. There is nothing quite as delicious as a fresh, hot, homemade dinner roll. I hate to think of all of the unnatural ways they made their rolls look perfect. Yours look great to me!

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  16. Oh Barbara I am so not a bread baker and want to be. You know that making croissants are on my bucket list?
    I want to try these parker rolls, do you think I can do it? LOL
    I'm doubtful!!!!

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  17. its a cold, rainy day here in malibu. the mud keeps sliding down the road because of the torrential downpour that hit us the last few days (and our horrible drought is still only 25% abated with all of the rain). and, as usual, Barbara, it's one of your amazing recipes that would save or make my day. wishing that i was at your Thanksgiving table this very moment!!

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  18. I adore bread. I wish I didn't. It doesn't love me or my waistline. I'd love it if you linked this awesome recipe to What'd You Do This Weekend. It goes live at midnight.

    Have a wonderful week,
    Lilnda @ Tumbleweed Contessa.com

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  19. parker house rolls will always have a place at our holiday table! i like your everything twist!

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  20. I can tell from the photo that they are very fluffy and soft! I am craving some feta now haha!

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  21. Barbara,
    These parker house rolls look so good. I love rolls so much, and I often make them myself. I can't have yeast, so I just have the ones with unbleached flour. These look so soft, and bet they would taste great with a little butter.

    Have a sweet day.

    Love,
    ~Sheri

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  22. Hi Barbara--as one who has been behind the scenes at food photo shoots, I can tell you that there are a couple of trials to get "the hero" and both the stylist and the photographer can really make anything look delicious.

    that said, these parker house rolls are a dream...

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