There’s a defining moment around a holiday table, when the clinking of forks and knives dies down, the gravy runs out, and eyes stare longingly at the last Parker House roll. What starts out friendly as “no, you take it” turns into a disorderly snatch and grab. The roll is just that good — pillowy and light in the hand with a buttery aroma.
If you want this tempting dinner roll, it can be yours for the next time friends and family gather. Share the roll’s back story, and you just might distract them long enough to keep the peace.
It starts in the mid-19th century at the Parker House, the eldest of the elegant inns in Boston. Breads in New England were commonly dense, and loaves at Harvard were described as so heavy they could blind someone if pitched in a food fight.
A German baker working in the Parker House kitchen and known only as Ward gets the credit for making something new in a soft dough. Many stories claim to know why the roll was folded over “pocketbook” style, but none can be verified, says Susan Wilson, historian of Omni Parker House, established in 1855 and the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States.
“The stories are wonderful and wild. Who knows what the truth is? But people have always raved about this roll, and to this day, they ask for it by name,” Wilson says.
The roll has an urban legend with a presidential tie. The exact amounts of butter and other ingredients were a trade secret until Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt asked to know for the White House. Eleanor Roosevelt was drawn to American cooking and lore but ate very little herself, Wilson writes in her history of the hotel, Heaven, By Hotel Standards (Omni Parker House, 2014). A neighbor of the Roosevelts, Henrietta Nesbitt, was a kindred spirit who loved to bake, so the first lady made her “first housekeeper.”
A believer that nothing compares with the smell of fresh bread, Nesbitt revealed the correct ingredients in Presidential Cookbook: Feeding the Roosevelts and Their Guests (Doubleday and Co., 1951). How she got the secret remains a mystery.
Since the 1870s, many cookbook authors and celebrity chefs have plumbed the mystique of the Parker House roll, trying to imitate its buttery élan.
As always, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so enter here and try it. You can do it, too.
How to make Parker House Rolls: What your old recipe didn't tell you
Recipe: Spirit of Parker House Rolls
Fillings
Here are some ideas for turning the rolls into sliders.
Small slices of ham, Gruyère and a drizzle of honey or Dijon.
A slice or two of pepperoni, a tiny dollop of pizza sauce, mozzarella and a basil leaf.
Cranberry relish, turkey and Muenster.
Salami, caramelized onions and goat cheese.
Goat cheese and arugula.
Sauerkraut, potato and cheese, pirogi-style.
Make-ahead tips
To make rolls a day ahead or take them to another location, partially bake the rolls and finish them later. You can par-bake the day before and hold the rolls, covered, at room temperature until the next day, or par-bake and then freeze rolls.
You can freeze rolls immediately after shaping, but the best stage at which to freeze is after the dough has risen and baked for 70-80 percent of its usual bake time, says Harold McGee, an authority on the chemistry of food, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Scribner, 1984).
If you freeze the rolls immediately after shaping, some yeast cells that begin fermentation will die in the freezing process. That means less leavening, a slower rise and the potential for spreading yeast chemicals that weaken gluten. If you wait until after fermentation and partial baking, yeast survival is no longer at play because the cells have done their leavening job and then perished during the initial bake.
A day ahead: Prepare the dough through to a partial bake of about 9 to 10 minutes at 375 F. They should be set and just beginning to brown. Too little baking, and they’ll collapse a bit and wrinkle on top (but still taste fine). Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cover in plastic wrap and hold at room temperature.
Just before serving, brush them with melted butter and bake them in a preheated 375 F oven until browned on top, about 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush again with butter.
Freezing rolls: Par-bake them as above, allow to cool completely in the pan, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze the whole pan. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or allow to sit at room temperature (this takes time) before brushing with melted butter and baking in a preheated 375 F oven. Give them a final brush with butter after baking. They’re best if used within three weeks of freezing.
If you froze the rolls first, allow them to come to room temperature (this will take about one hour if you thawed them overnight in the fridge), then continue to proof them (at least another hour) until they feel puffy, as if they swallowed a big breath of air. They should appear larger, too. Proceed with baking.
Parker House roll shapes
Traditional: Flatten the ball with your hand and, using a lightly floured wooden spoon handle or knife, make an indent slightly off center. Brush the roll with melted butter, then fold the dough over. Place the roll in the pan, shorter side down. Place the next roll slightly overlapping the first.
Top left: Use the handle of a wooden spoon to create an indentation just off center.
Top right: Then brush the side of the roll that you indented with melted butter.
Bottom left: When shaping the dough, fold the shorter side just short of the longer side.
Bottom right: If using a skillet, slightly overlap the balls of dough.
Cloverleaf: Divide the dough into three smaller balls and place in a greased muffin tin. Brush with melted butter.
Fan shape: Roll the dough into a thin rectangle and brush with melted butter. Cut the dough in strips about 1 inch wide, then stack the strips on top of each other. Cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces and place them on end in greased muffin tins.
Michelle Medley is a Dallas-area pastry chef instructor who got loads of help on this story from volunteers who tasted rolls and butters.
