The Parker House Hotel in Boston created the Parker House roll in the 19th century, a fluffy yeast-fed roll with a central crease. The rolls are made from white flour and a butter base, and are a signature dish of the luxurious Omni Parker House restaurant. The recipe can be found in cookbooks and online, but they are not particularly healthy.
The Parker House roll is a deliciously fluffy yeast-fed roll developed by the Parker House Hotel and Restaurant in the 19th century. Now known as the Omni Parker House, and still located in Boston, Massachusetts, the restaurant is considered one of the most luxurious establishments in the United States and has invented more than one well-known recipe. The Parker House also invented the Boston Cream Pie, which has been delighting dessert lovers for decades.
A standard Parker House roll is made from a disk of yeast dough, which is then folded in half to create a slight separation. The rolls can be oval or semicircular in shape. When round, they look a bit like a 3-D Pac Man, from the popular video game, since they have a small opening in their midsection that somewhat resembles a mouth. Oval-shaped rolls are also popular, and while non-standard, you can find sesame or poppy seeds on rolls today. Once shaped, the rolls are allowed to rise again before baking, so the end result is a puffy, soft roll that is easy to open and butter due to its central crease.
Parker House’s signature roll ingredients are rich. White flour is preferred, although you can substitute some whole grains or wheat for a healthier, healthier alternative. The rolls also have a butter base, and when shaped, both sides of the circle can be basted with melted butter to help the sides stick together. Typical directions for shaping rolls include rolling out the dough to about 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) thick, cutting it into rounds (the size of the rounds varies), and then making the folding at each round.
One trick to this recipe is to form the rolls by hand instead of cutting them. These may result in less uniformly sized Parker House rolls, but are still rich and delicious to their many fans. Some people simply form an oval shaped roll by hand and add a dent to it to create the Parker House roll look.
A Parker House roll melts in your mouth, thanks to its high butter content, and recipes for them can be found in numerous cookbooks and on various Internet sites. As a food source, they are fattening, made from white flour, and are not particularly nutritionally beneficial. Still, they’re nice as an occasional treat, or you can convert the recipe to make healthier sandwiches that have the shape but not the calorie content of more traditional recipes.
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