Pillowy Parker House Rolls
Buttery and soft parker house rolls that you will want to rest your head on like a pillow! They are the perfect bread for any holiday meal or for a special breakfast when you have some extra time. They are life changing, and i’m not exaggerating!
Ingredients-
½ cup warm water (about 115F)
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (you may need ½ cup more if they dough is very sticky)
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups whole milk, warm (about 110F)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Topping- about 4 tablespoons of butter, melted (unsalted or salted are fine here), and Flake Sea Salt (Maldon)
Steps-
In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also do the mixing by hand), stir together the warm water, sugar and 1 packet of yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble slightly. Once activated stir in 1 cup of all purpose flour, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place. While you are blooming the yeast warm your milk.
In a small pot warm your milk to about 110-120F (luke warm bath water temp). Do not make it too hot, or it will kill the yeast. if it gets too hot allow to cool a bit before using. Stir in the melted butter.
Add your milk/butter mixture to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed in your stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add in the eggs and egg yolk and mix until blended. Add in 7 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and mix on medium low speed until combined. You want the dough to start to form a ball. It is a moist dough but it shouldn’t be super wet so if it isn’t quite coming together you can add up to ½ cup more flour.
Grease a large bowl with butter or nonstick spray. Place the dough ball in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
Once your dough has risen, preheat your oven to 350F convection (or 375F regular bake). Dust your counter with flour and use your hands to press the dough into a rectangle that is about 16x8 inches and ¾ inch thick. With the short side of the rectangle facing you cut the dough into 2 equal size strips then cut crosswise into 12 equal size strips.
Take each small strip and fold one end over but only halfway, then fold the remaining piece of dough over. Place the rolls on a parchment lined sheet pan touching each other in two rows of 6 with the loose, seam sides down. You can also place them in 3 rows of 4 depending on the size of your pan.
Bake the rolls on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until puffed, golden and baked throughout. If you would like you can take the internal temperature of a roll and it should read 190F when cooked.
As soon as the rolls come out of the oven thoroughly baste them with melted butter and then sprinkle them generously with flake sea salt. Enjoy warm with extra butter of course!