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Parker House Rolls

Soft rolls made from a yeast batter with milk, butter, flour, sugar, and soda, then baked and brushed with butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Johnson, Vt. Congregational church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Parker House Rolls

Why it works: Milk and wheat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓

Parker House Rolls

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Scald 1 pint milk and stir in 2 tablespoonfuls sugar.

  2. Add 2 tablespoonfuls butter, yeast cake, and a little salt; mix to form a thick batter.

  3. Add 1 cupful white flour and 2 cupfuls whole wheat flour; mix until smooth.

  4. Add 2 cupfuls sour milk, 2 cupfuls sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoonful soda; mix.

  5. Let the batter rise overnight.

  6. In the morning, dissolve a little soda in milk and stir into the batter.

Knead and shape

  1. Knead the dough for 15–20 minutes.

  2. Let the dough rise.

  3. Roll the dough out and cut into rolls with a biscuit cutter.

  4. Brush the rolls with melted butter and fold.

  5. Let the rolls rise until very light.

Bake and finish

  1. Bake for 20 minutes in a brisk oven.

  2. Brush the rolls with melted butter after removing from the oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

904Calories
29 gProtein
29 gFat
132 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Sour Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Cakenot in our table0
Wheatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Johnson, Vt. Congregational church. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,418 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  2. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Wheat + breadtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together209 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White flour
Builds the gluten structure that holds the rolls' shape and rise.
Entire wheat flour
Adds more gluten-forming protein, structure and a nutty, earthy flavour.
Yeast
Produces gas as it ferments, leavening the dough so it rises and becomes light.
Sour milk
Its acidity reacts with the soda to release gas, adding lift and a tangy flavour.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and gives a rich flavour and softness.
Sugar
Feeds the yeast, adds sweetness, and helps the crust brown in the oven.

The step that matters

Let the rolls rise until very light. The final rise lets yeast gas expand the shaped dough. Underproofed rolls bake dense and heavy, while overproofed rolls can collapse or turn coarse.

“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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