Breads

Parker House Rolls | Recipe and History

New England’s classic Parker House Rolls are crisp and buttery on the outside, tender and light on the inside, and always delicious.

parker house rolls

Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine

Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan

Yield:

Ingredients

Instructions

Aimee Tucker

More by Aimee Tucker

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  1. Just made these tonight and they’re just wonderful! Definitely stay within the 2.75 biscuit cutter; they’re a big riser!

  2. I have used this recipe many times it is the best! Sadly i lost it and I came back to the article but the link for the recipe no longer works. Could someone please let me know how to find this recipe from the original recipe PLEASE

  3. Parker House rolls are a family tradition at our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I’ve been baking them for almost 40 years.

  4. My grandmother would not sit down to dinner unless she had Parker House rolls on the table. (That’s a slight exaggeration!) But I remember as a child having them at my grandparents’ when we went there for vacation or Thanksgiving. She ordered them from Calarco’s Bakery, and would steam them in the bun warmer. I always considered them very special, and still do.

  5. I remember my Mom talking so much about Parker House rolls, she even made some, it was trendy for house wives during those times (1960’s) to be baking these delightful memorable rolls. Over the years the recipe was forgotten, until the other day I was looking for a recipe to make rolls, scrolled and lo’ and behold their is a recipe for ‘Parker House rolls,’ totally took me back to when I first had these! They are so amazingly soft, that extra little crisp as you bite into them!

  6. My mother made yeast rolls every Sunday for a mid day dinner. Dinner was not complete without them, plus cinnamon rolls with a sugar glaze. She never used a mixer to make the dough all mixing was done by hand ( the real hands on method ). The rolls for Sunday dinner followed every week night dinner for which she made a big pan of biscuits baked in her oven. To my despair I never learned to make neither the rolls nor the biscuits despite seeing her make both hundred of times for years. I have yet to find recipes for either her rolls or biscuits that compared to hers made with the recipe buried in her brain. The talents of a good ole SOUTHERN cook. I still love New England.

  7. IT IS XMAS DAY AND PARKER HOUSE ROLLS MAKE THE BEST TURKEY BUNS,WITH CRAN SAUCE,DRESSING IN THE P.H.R, OM BOXING DAY IN CANADA, A BRIT. TRAD. THAT GOES BACK TO SERVANT DAYS WHEN THEY HAD A DAY OFF TO TAKE THEIR GIFTS TO FAMILY MEMS, THUS BOXING DAY

  8. My mom would make these cutting 1×2 inch rectangles nestled in rows in a glass buttered dish. It’d next be covered with a cloth and set on the radiator to rise. After baking & cooled shed slather the rolls with white frosting. This was the best treat ever! I didn’t find them presented this way & wonder when frosting replaced jam. But ooh so good!