My Aunt Marilyn (you know you can’t go wrong with her recipes, people!) passed along her favorite roll recipe to me recently and of course I had to try it. She’s never been wrong in her favorites. Come to find out this was the first roll recipe she EVER made when she was first married and learning to cook. And just this week she celebrated 25 years with my Uncle Dan. I’m almost positive they’ve made it this far because of these rolls.
The roll dough is soft and tender and a bit sweeter than my other favorite roll recipes – which has its merits when paired with a smoky ham or salted pork for dinner. I loved rolling them in the Parker House style. They are buttery and light and I’ll confess, I’ve made them three times in the last month. I guess they will have to be added as my fourth favorite roll.
Note: as with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I’ve added compared to the recipe. This tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup oil
- 6 – 7 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup butter, melted, for shaping rolls
Directions
- Add hot water to sugar and oil and beat with electric mixer (or by hand). Add eggs and salt; beat well. When mixture is lukewarm, add yeast and keep beating. Add flour until a soft dough forms. Do not knead. Let rise in covered, oil bowl for one hour.
- Form rolls. To make Parker House rolls, roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness and cut circles with round cutter, about 3 inches in diameter. Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted butter. Fold in half on baking sheet and pinch edges together to seal (don’t be afraid of this step – use your index and middle finger to indent the edges of the roll together all the way to the bottom of the sheet pan otherwise they will pop open while baking). Arrange folded dough in rows in pan, each nearly touching the other. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired.
Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn
Oh, I love parker house rolls! These look so good. I bet they are delish with a bit of butter. Yum!
I had to do a double take here for a few minutes… When you mentioned your Aunt Marilyn and her 25 year marriage to your Uncle Dan… I have an Aunt Marilyn and she is married to Uncle Dan, too! I was about to wonder if we are related through opposite sides of the family, but when I looked it up, my aunt and uncle were married in September, and they will be celebrating 28 years this year. So it’s just coincidence, and thats a good thing, too, cause I was about to get mad at Aunt Marilyn for not sharing her best recipes with me! Whew! This recipe looks good…
those’re some mighty fine and fluffy rolls! i love the curled-over shape and the awesome browning. delicious.
Okay, I think we need a picture and a little write-up about “Aunt Marilyn”, don’t ya think??? Just so we can make sure she is really a real person, and not some figment of your imagination!
When ever Melanie makes these we are in HEAVEN!! These are my favorite rolls ever!!
I just found your blog through tasty kitchen and I am officially addicted! You have awesome pictures and recipes on here. I will definitely be back – I already bookmarked at least 5 recipes that I want to try!
I have heard of these but have never made them. They look delish!
I’ve made Parker House rolls and they’re fantastic, I absolutely love homemade rolls!!
These look so good and maybe easy enough for me to do!
looks awesome!
I love Parker House rolls. I made them for Easter and I dream about them!
I made these tonight and they were fabulous! I would consider myself a pretty good cook, but yeast dough has never been my friend. I thought I would give them a try and they worked! my new favorite roll recipe. Thanks!
I love your website, I’ve made the french bread rolls a few times and everybody loves them! I wanna try these rolls tonight, they look yummy!
the Robinsons – how did the Parker House rolls turn out? Glad you like the french bread rolls, they are definitely one of my favorite roll recipes.
Anonymous – so glad you liked this recipe and they worked out for you. Yeast breads aren’t terribly hard once you get a little practice and it seems like you are probably a pro already!
Pam – what a hilarious comment. At first I was thinking “Hey, am I related to someone named Pam??” and then I read the rest of your comment. Too bad we aren’t related! Thanks for giving me a good chuckle.
Hey Megan – welcome! Hope you find some good recipes to try. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
These look really beautiful – funny, I have an Aunt Marilyn who has some delicious recipes too!
How I wish I was your cousin – your Aunt Marilyn is awesome!
ooooh, gorgeous and delicious! these rolls are fantastic!
These look delicious!
Mel! I made these (and they looked nothing like yours) but my whole fam loved them!! We ate them and ate them for a couple days with every meal. They were a huge hit. Can’t wait to make them again! Thanks!
Hi Melanie,
I just made these rolls and they were VERY bland. Is something missing from the recipe? They looked and smelled amazing but they were not delicious. Help?
cupcakefitz – oh, I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you. Is there any way you might have forgotten the salt? That is the only way I can think that they would be bland because with the sugar and salt in the recipe, this dough doesn’t turn out bland (at least when I have made them). I guess my only suggestion would be to up the salt by 1/2 teaspoon next time. Again, I’m so sorry they didn’t work out!
I always wondered, but have never gotten around to trying it. Thank you!
Jalene – yes, these rolls can be shaped in any shape, really. So if your husband doesn’t like the Parker House shape, they should work just as well in a crescent shape or a round roll.
Can these be shaped like a traditional round roll and baked the same or do they need to be rolled out and cut to turn out correctly? My husband has something against the shape!
I have not baked in years and tried making the rolls. They did rise beautiful the first time but when I shaped them into rolls they did not rise much at all. They did not rise much at all cooking either. Any suggestions what my problem may be?
Judy – the only things that come to mind that sometimes hinder dough rising is if the dough has too much flour in it and a stiff consistency or if the temperature was too cool in the kitchen and they needed more time. I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you!
I have never had much luck with rolls or bread, but these were super easy and turned out great! Yay! They are going on the Christmas dinner table this year. Thanks Mel!
Annette – I’m so glad these rolls were a success!
Hey Mel! Just wondering if I can make this dough in advance? Making these beauties for Sunday dinner tomorrow night, and we have the dreaded 1-4 pm church! SO I think I will be really rushed trying to make them after church, but not sure if I make them before church how that will turn out! Thanks girly!
Made these rolls tonight but I made them into balls. They were flippin’ good and so addicting.
I know, I know you stress the importance of judging how much flour to add by the look and feel of the dough, and with your tutorials, I am getting better at doing that. But, I was wondering what YOU normally add for these rolls. Is it closer to the 6 cups or 7 cups? Your other roll recipes I have made have almost always been close to the reccommended amount, but this is a cup difference and I am a bit scared
Thanks!
Heidi – I hate to say this but I can’t tell you the answer because I don’t even measure my flour anymore – I just scoop it in until the dough looks and feels right. Don’t be worried if it is even a cup difference. When we moved out here to Wisconsin from Utah, the elevation changed drastically and so did the amount of flour I used in all of my bread recipes – sometimes as much as a cup and a half!
Hey Mel, what kind of oil do you use? Also, you said you don’t knead these? Do I gauge if there is enough flour the same way as you do with your other rolls?
Hi Bri – I usually use canola oil. These rolls don’t need to be kneaded – although it wouldn’t hurt them. Yes, just judge the feel of the dough to see how much flour still needs to be added. This is definitely a soft, tender roll dough. Not overly sticky, but soft and pliable.
Made these for Easter dinner last night and they were absolutely delish!
I made these for Easter dinner too – yum. I took the left over scraps and put them in a bread pan. It worked out great – now we have a yummy loaf of bread for ham sandwiches. I made your recipe for ham in the slow cooker – that worked out well too.
Mel, just wanted to say that I love your blog. I am not even sure what to make next with all the yummylicious food on here. This was my first recipe I’ve tried so far. Now I have to admit that I haven’t had the best of luck with yeast. When I made these, the rolls rose nicely the 2nd time. However, they came out a little flat and they certainly weren’t browned on top (they tasted great though). I noticed on another post you mentioned that you usually cook rolls at 375 or 400 to get the nice browning effect. Do you cook these at 350? Also, when you knead dough in general, how long is a good amount of time? And at what speed on a kitchen aid? Thanks!
Hi Jen – sometimes rolls will flatten as they bake if they have over risen or if they needed just a touch more flour. Also, I usually remove any oven racks above the rack that I’m baking on – it helps rolls and bread brown better. I’ve baked these rolls at 350 degrees but I’ve also baked them at 375 (shortened the baking time a few minute). It just kind of depends on where my brain is that day and what I set the oven to. I don’t have a kitchen aid and I’m not familiar with the settings, so I’m sorry I can’t chime in on that issue. I usually knead most of my roll/bread recipes for about 7-8 minutes.
Mel, I was just wondering if you could tell me where you find your instant yeast. I live close to your area and can not find it in stores anywhere! I had thought to order it from King Arthur Flour but the shipping would cost me more than the actual yeast. Thank you!
Rachel – instant yeast is also called rapid rise yeast and I know I’ve seen the rapid rise at Walmart and other grocery stores, but I nearly always buy my instant yeast at Sam’s Club. They carry the Fleischmann’s brand and while I prefer the SAF brand, Fleischmann’s seems to work just as well (and like you, I don’t want to pay shipping). Hope that helps!
Rachel, I get my saf instant yeast off of amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Yeast-1-Pound-Pouches-Pack/dp/B003Z7VYXW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316806324&sr=8-2
You can find other stuff on amazon and get free shipping if you spend 25 dollars. You can split this yeast with four other people because it’s 4-1 pound bags. It’s a super cheap way to go, and it gets shipped right to you. We buy a lot of groceries off of amazon.
Thank you….I would have never thought to order food from amazon! I will definitely try that out. I can’t wait to see the difference between instant and active dry. I have heard that the instant works a lot better in sweeter doughs as well.