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Homemade Parker House rolls are the soft, buttery dinner rolls I want on the table for every holiday. Each one is folded over a swipe of butter and pulls apart in golden layers when you tear into it. My secret is a scoop of instant mashed potatoes in the dough, and it keeps the rolls light and tender. They come together in a stand mixer and get one more brush of butter and a pinch of flaky salt on top.
I have a confession: I love bread. In all its forms, from biscuits to cornbread to sandwich bread, sourdough bread, and ALL THE ROLLS. My buttermilk dinner rolls are divine, and so are these fluffy little Parker House rolls. I think I could eat half a dozen of these babies if I allowed myself!
The key to these rolls is near and dear to my Southern heart — butter. Lots of butter. We brush butter on the dough before rolling it up, and then brush more butter on the tops of the rolls after they bake. It adds so much flavor, along with the little pinch of salt on top. There are never leftovers of these rolls at Thanksgiving.
Testing results for homemade Parker House rolls
- I’ve learned with bread baking that you should not expect perfection. And by that I mean, don’t stress about whether each roll is the same size. This is a yeast dough that you’re kneading, stretching, and pulling, and you’re not a machine. It’s ok if one is smaller or one is longer. They’ll all be delicious, and no one will care.
- Note: The dough will rise faster during the last half hour or so than in the beginning. Don’t be worried if it looks like it’s not doing much during the first hour.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Instant potatoes make them soft
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card.
Instant mashed potatoes: Half a cup of potato flakes goes in with the flour. Potatoes are high in starch, and starch holds on to water, so the dough stays moist and the rolls bake up soft and fluffy. The more starch a bread dough has, the more tender the finished bread.
All-purpose flour: This is a soft, sticky dough. When you turn it out of the bowl, grease your hands instead of dusting them with more flour. Extra flour makes a tougher roll, so add it only if the dough still looks wet in the mixer, and then just a tablespoon at a time.
Active dry yeast: Yeast loses strength as it ages. If the milk and yeast don’t turn thick and foamy after 5 minutes, the yeast has expired. Toss it and start again with a fresh packet.
Butter: You’ll need about 11 tablespoons. Some goes into the dough, some gets brushed inside each fold, and the rest goes over the tops when the rolls come out of the oven.
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Tools for homemade yeast rolls
A stand mixer makes the 15-minute mix much easier. An instant-read thermometer checks the milk before the yeast goes in and tells you when the rolls are done, and a 9-by-13-inch pan holds all 16 in four neat rows.
How to make Parker House rolls with a folded edge
Parker House rolls get their shape from a buttered fold made before the second rise. Roll each half of the dough into a rectangle and cut it in half the long way, to get four long strips. Brush the strips with butter, then fold each one over the long way, with the top edge stopping just short of the bottom edge.
Cut each folded strip into four pieces and set them in the pan seam side down. The pieces will look a little uneven as they go in, and that’s fine. They puff up against each other during the second rise and bake into pull-apart rolls.
Start with the whisk attachment on low for 5 minutes, then switch to the dough hook on high for 10 more. By the end, the dough should pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. An instant-read thermometer helps at both ends of the recipe: the milk should read 110 to 115 degrees F before the yeast goes in, and the baked rolls are done at 190 degrees F in the center.
Freeze baked Parker House rolls
To freeze: To make Parker House rolls ahead, bake them as written and freeze them once they’ve cooled.
To reheat: Put the frozen rolls straight into a 250 degrees F oven and leave them there until they’re warm all the way through. There’s no need to thaw them first.
Serve them with ham or turkey
I always serve these rolls next to the ham at Christmas and the turkey at Thanksgiving. My bourbon-glazed ham with honey and orange juice gives you a sweet, salty slice to tuck inside a split roll.
For Thanksgiving, make small leftover turkey sandwiches with homemade cranberry sauce on split rolls the next day. Set out a dish of herb butter made with fresh sage and thyme for spreading on the warm rolls.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Homemade Parker House Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 packet active dry yeast 7 grams
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup more if needed
- ½ cup instant mashed potatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, divided
- 1 egg room temperature
- flaky sea salt optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 1/4 cups whole milk in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup until it reaches 110 to 115 degrees F. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar until it dissolves.
- Stir in 1 packet active dry yeast and let the mixture sit undisturbed for 5 minutes, until it is thick and foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the remaining sugar, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
- Add the yeast mixture, 5 tablespoons of the melted butter, and 1 egg. Mix on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Switch to the dough hook, increase the speed to high, and mix for 10 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and elastic. If it sticks to the bowl or feels wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 1/4 cup.
- Brush a large mixing bowl with a little of the melted butter and place the dough in it. Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and divide it into two equal balls.
- Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Roll each ball into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise to make four 4-by-12-inch strips.
- Brush each strip with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, stopping the top edge just short of the bottom edge, to make four 2-by-12-inch strips.
- Cut each folded strip into four equal pieces, for 16 rolls.
- Place the rolls seam side down in the prepared pan and cover with a clean tea towel. Let them rise for 45 minutes, until puffy. Halfway through the rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the center of a roll reads 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Brush the warm rolls with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
