Parker House Rolls

Parker House Rolls

The overwhelming memory of the bakery was the amount of butter they used. Everything was dripping in it and, of course, this made everything ridiculously good. If you’re around in North Vancouver, I believe they’re still there; if not, perhaps these Parker House Rolls will take you there.

I had no inkling of the history of these soft buttery buns; as a kid, I thought that my bakery had perhaps invented them and stuck a fancy name on them. It was only recently that I learned of its Boston origins, created at the Parker House Hotel.

They’ve got a unique shape with a ‘lip’ or fold created either by pressing a dowel or chopstick into the bun or by cutting out rounds and folding them over; I used the latter method, also favoured by Monarch Bakery. These soft, buttery buns were perfect for mopping up the baked beans in my last post and in case there’s not enough butter in them for you, they’re awfully nice with an extra bit on them too.

Parker House Rolls

about 450g plain flour (you might need more or less depending on how damp your dough is)

50g sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp dry yeast

115g unsalted butter (divided into 2 parts)

1 egg