Why it works: Butter and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Scald the milk.
Add the sugar, melted butter, melted lard, and salt to the milk.
When lukewarm, add the yeast cake previously soaked in 1/4 cup water.
Stir in enough of the measured flour; after sifting a few times, make a soft sponge and set aside to become light and spongy.
Add the remainder of the flour and knead twenty minutes on the board or ten minutes if using a bread mixer.
Let the dough rise very light.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough.
Spread with butter.
Cut with a biscuit cutter.
Fold over, bringing edges even.
Place in a tin (not too close together) and let rise.
Butter over the top after placing them in the tin and also after baking.
Bake in a quick hot oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Cake | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yeast cake
- Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes the rolls rise and turn light and spongy.
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the gluten structure that traps gas and gives the rolls their soft, bread-like crumb.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and browns the crust with its milk solids.
- Melted lard
- Adds fat that shortens gluten strands, giving the rolls a tender, soft texture.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and some browning to the crust.
- Milk (in the method)
- Adds moisture, protein and sugars that enrich the dough and help browning.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise very light. Under-proofed dough stays dense, while over-proofed dough collapses and loses structure. Yeast gas must be trapped by gluten, so the dough should be risen until light and airy before shaping and baking.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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