Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Boil the sweet milk and let it cool slightly.
Melt the sugar and lard (or butter) into the milk.
When lukewarm, add the yeast.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the milk mixture.
If making for tea, let it rise overnight.
In the morning, mix well and knead for 30 minutes.
Let it rise again.
Shape and bake
Around 4 o'clock, knead for another 10-15 minutes.
Roll out the dough thinner than for biscuits.
Rub melted butter on half the surface and fold it over.
Let it rise again in pans.
When light, bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven (400°F or 200°C).
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.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the rolls their structure and chew.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become light.
- Sweet milk
- Provides moisture and softness, and its proteins help brown the crust.
- White sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning in the crust.
- Lard or butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and keeps the rolls soft.
The step that matters
Kneading and rising times. Kneading develops the gluten so the dough can trap gas. Rising until light lets the yeast fill the dough with air. Rising too little leaves dense rolls, while over-proofing can cause them to collapse or turn flat.
“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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