Parkerhouse Rolls

Thanksgiving Menu

I like the turkey, I like the sides, but I LOVE the rolls on Thanksgiving day and they are pretty much what I live off of the remainder of the weekend. YUM! Anyhow, I also admittedly get bored with too much routine and so I like to try a variety of variety of recipes. This year, I tried a variation of parker house rolls. A friend made some over Easter and they were melt-on-your-mouth to die for. However, because I have vouched to not post her family recipes on my website, I have posted the variation I made on Thanksgiving that were equally tasty and awesome the next day served heated up with a slice of cheddar and left over turkey. The original recipe and printable copy can be found here.

Parker House Rolls

Makes 16 rolls

3 cups flour

1 tbsp dry active yeast

3 tbsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes

3 tbsp butter

1 cup milk

1 large egg

4 tbsp melted butter (to brush on rolls before baking)

-Gently heat egg and milk together to speed up rising process. In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients to form a dough. The dough should remain slightly sticky to the touch to  create a moist and and soft dough, so its best to add flour last, incase the full 3 cups aren't necessary to reach desired texture.  

-Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a moistened towel and place in a warm area to rise about 1 1/2 hours. It will almost double in size and be puffy.

-Punch down dough and divide in half.  Place half of the dough on a lightly greased working surface and flatten to a 4"x 24" rectangle.  Brush a light coat of butter over the surface of the dough.  

-Fold the dough over lengthwise, to about 1/2" of the bottom edge (the bottom will stick out 1/2" past the  folded edge.)

-Cut the dough crosswise into 8- 3"rectangular rolls.

-Repeat process with remaining dough.  

-Place rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Cover the pan and let rolls rise until puffy, but not doubled, about 1 hour.

-Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush with remaining butter.