Happy Spring all! I am loving the warmer weather we are having lately. Summer is only a few months away!
As many of you know, Sunday was Easter. I like to call Easter a Spring Thanksgiving because well you feast and are gathered around loving family and friends! What a time! I was fortunate enough to go home for the holiday and have a nice relaxing weekend before *gulp* the BIG Bachelor's graduation coming up in two weeks!!
During the weekend I was doing some recipe testing and tapping into my baking skills, even though they are very limited. My baking expertise ranges from cookies to homemade cinnamon rolls. Don't ask me to bake a wedding cake, unless you are okay with a really rustic looking cake.
I was in charge of preparing the feast that was to be enjoyed on Sunday, so I wanted to make the perfect roll to go with the meal. Sure, I could've popped open a container of pre-made rolls but what is the fun in that!? I decided to recipe test a recipe for chewy, soft, and delicious Parker House Rolls. Full disclosure I did enlist the help of my Sous Chef who just happens to be my Mom. I put her in charge of brushing the tops of the rolls with butter and garnishing with sea salt as my hands were preoccupied with putting the finishing touches on our Easter meal! So thanks for your help Mom!! Love you!
For this recipe I took inspiration from various sources such as my baking book from my school, The Culinary Institute of America, and websites such as Epicurious.com and bonappetit.com. Taking different elements from each I have developed an ideal recipe for these rolls. Now fair warning: they are time consuming but they are essentially easy to make if you have the time. Check out the recipe below!
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups Flour
2 tsp. Dry Active Yeast
1 1/3 cup Milk, room temperature
4 tbsp. Butter, room temperature
2 ea. Eggs
4 tbsp. Sugar
1 tbsp. Salt
Butter for melting
Optional: Sea Salt for garnish
Method:
1) In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour and yeast. In a standing mixer bowl add milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. With dough hook attached mix until eggs are beaten. Then add flour and yeast mixture. Mix at low speed for 5 minutes and then medium speed for 3 minutes. The dough should be elastic like but well mixed.
2) Remove dough from mixing bowl and transfer into another floured bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 1 hour, until it doubles.
3) On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5-8 minutes, adding more flour as needed. When smooth, shape into a large round ball. Place back into floured bowl and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide into 1 1/2 in x 2 in pieces. Using palm of hand, apply slight pressure while rolling piece of dough in a circular motion making each individual piece smooth and rounded. Cover shaped rolls and let rest for 10 minutes.
As many of you know, Sunday was Easter. I like to call Easter a Spring Thanksgiving because well you feast and are gathered around loving family and friends! What a time! I was fortunate enough to go home for the holiday and have a nice relaxing weekend before *gulp* the BIG Bachelor's graduation coming up in two weeks!!
During the weekend I was doing some recipe testing and tapping into my baking skills, even though they are very limited. My baking expertise ranges from cookies to homemade cinnamon rolls. Don't ask me to bake a wedding cake, unless you are okay with a really rustic looking cake.
I was in charge of preparing the feast that was to be enjoyed on Sunday, so I wanted to make the perfect roll to go with the meal. Sure, I could've popped open a container of pre-made rolls but what is the fun in that!? I decided to recipe test a recipe for chewy, soft, and delicious Parker House Rolls. Full disclosure I did enlist the help of my Sous Chef who just happens to be my Mom. I put her in charge of brushing the tops of the rolls with butter and garnishing with sea salt as my hands were preoccupied with putting the finishing touches on our Easter meal! So thanks for your help Mom!! Love you!
For this recipe I took inspiration from various sources such as my baking book from my school, The Culinary Institute of America, and websites such as Epicurious.com and bonappetit.com. Taking different elements from each I have developed an ideal recipe for these rolls. Now fair warning: they are time consuming but they are essentially easy to make if you have the time. Check out the recipe below!
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups Flour
2 tsp. Dry Active Yeast
1 1/3 cup Milk, room temperature
4 tbsp. Butter, room temperature
2 ea. Eggs
4 tbsp. Sugar
1 tbsp. Salt
Butter for melting
Optional: Sea Salt for garnish
Method:
1) In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour and yeast. In a standing mixer bowl add milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. With dough hook attached mix until eggs are beaten. Then add flour and yeast mixture. Mix at low speed for 5 minutes and then medium speed for 3 minutes. The dough should be elastic like but well mixed.
2) Remove dough from mixing bowl and transfer into another floured bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 1 hour, until it doubles.
3) On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5-8 minutes, adding more flour as needed. When smooth, shape into a large round ball. Place back into floured bowl and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide into 1 1/2 in x 2 in pieces. Using palm of hand, apply slight pressure while rolling piece of dough in a circular motion making each individual piece smooth and rounded. Cover shaped rolls and let rest for 10 minutes.
5) Arrange rolls into a greased 9x9 baking pan. Melt about a 3 tbsp. butter and brush on top of rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
6) Immediately after removing from oven, melt another 3 tbsp. of butter and brush on top of rolls. If you would like to garnish with sea salt proceed to do so after brushing butter on.
6) Immediately after removing from oven, melt another 3 tbsp. of butter and brush on top of rolls. If you would like to garnish with sea salt proceed to do so after brushing butter on.