Better than Sister Schubert's Parker House rolls, these buttery rolls are easy to make and the perfect addition to any dinner!
You might also like our knotted dinner rolls, our pretzel dinner rolls, or our quick garlic breadsticks!
My kids love the frozen Sister Schubert's Parker House-style dinner rolls. They come crowded in a foil pan and bake up quickly. I like them too, but always prefer homemade to storebought. Sister Schubert's version is baked in a round cake pan so I made mine in a cake pan too. They are easy to make and the homemade version blows the frozen counterpart out of the water.
Why I Like This Recipe
- Easy to shape. There's no need to perfectly shape the rolls. Simply divide into 32 sections, press each section flat, brush with butter, then fold in half.
- Makes 2 pans of rolls. One batch makes 32 soft and golden rolls. You can bake these in two 9" cake pans, like I do, or in a 9x13" pan. They are supposed to be crowded into the pan; that's normal.
- Soft and buttery. Not only is there a light layer of butter in the middle of each roll, but they are also brushed with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.
What Others Are Saying
I used 2 8x8 pans and they turned out great. Will definitely be making these for holidays. Thank you!---Taylor
These were amazing. Easy to make and were super yummy! These will be my holiday rolls from now on. Thank you!---Jess
These are amazing. I would next time adjust and add more salt, however they turned out beautifully and taste identical to the chick fil a rolls my teenager specifically asked me to make. I brushed the tops with honey butter the last 5 min of baking and they are fantastic. Thank You!---Amanda
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Tips and Tricks
- You don't need a stand or an electric mixer. You can make these rolls with a mixing bowl and Danish dough whisk or in a stand mixer. I have both and tend to mix by hand these days. I highly recommend using a Danish dough whisk over a wooden spoon. It works great to mix up yeast bread dough.
- Yummy sliders. If you like the chicken minis from Chick-fil-A, you'll love making your own! Place a chicken nugget inside each baked roll (my favorite brand of nuggets is Just Bare), then brush with melted honey butter!
- How to freeze Parker House rolls: Freeze the baked rolls by placing them into a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months.
- How to reheat the rolls: To thaw, place the bag on the counter and allow the rolls to thaw completely. Reheat in the microwave until warm. You can also reheat the rolls in the oven. Place on a baking sheet and heat at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
Recipe Ingredients
- Warm water: you need warm water to activate the dry yeast. Not too hot, the perfect temperature is between 105 and 115 degrees.
- Yeast: you can use instant or dry active yeast. I'm so used to proofing my yeast that I proof it no matter what kind I use.
- Sugar: a bit of white sugar adds sweetness to the dough.
- Kosher salt: you can use table salt, but I typically only buy kosher salt and use it for all of my baking and cooking.
- Melted butter: you'll need two types of butter (melted and softened). The melted butter is mixed into the dough. The butter should be melted and cooled to room temperature.
- Eggs: for richness and texture.
- All-purpose flour: start with 3 cups (half of the flour) and add the rest one cup at a time.
- Softened butter: each ball of roll dough is flattened and spread with a thin layer of butter. Save any leftovers to melt and brush over the baked rolls.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Parker House Rolls
Step 1: Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Pour the water and yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt, melted butter, and eggs, and mix thoroughly. Add 3 cups of flour and mix, then add the remaining flour one cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
Step 3: Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it comes together in a smooth ball. It might seem soft and slightly sticky and that's ok.
Step 4: Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic or a damp cloth. Let the dough rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Step 5: Turn the dough onto your work surface and divide the dough into 2 pieces. Divide each of those pieces in half, and continue doing so until you have 32 portions.
Step 6: Flatten each ball of dough with your hand. Spread a small amount of butter over each piece of dough. Fold each roll in half, gently pressing down onto the seams.
Step 7: Continue until all 32 pieces of dough have been flattened, spread with butter, and folded in half.
Step 8: Arrange the rolls into greased 8-9" cake pans as shown above with 10 rolls around the edge (with the seams facing the edge of the pan), 5 in the center, and 1 in the middle. 16 rolls per pan.
Note: It's going to be CROWDED and that's okay---that's what makes them look like the Sister Schubert's version.
Cover pans loosely with plastic or a damp cloth and let rise again for 30-40 minutes.
Step 9: Bake rolls at 375 degrees for 18 minutes. Brush hot rolls with melted butter while still in the pans.
Parker House Rolls FAQs
Parker House rolls originated at the Parker House Hotel (now called the Omni Parker House) in the 1800s. The signature rolls are so yummy. Each tiny ball of roll dough is flattened and spread with butter before being folded in half and placed into a pan. You can bake them in a 9x13" pan or in cake pans.
Yes, you can freeze the baked rolls by placing them into a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. To thaw, place the bag on the counter and allow the rolls to thaw completely. Reheat in the microwave until warm. You can also reheat the rolls in the oven. Place on a baking sheet and heat at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
I always use bread flour or all-purpose, whichever one I have on hand. My favorite brand is King Arthur.
More Roll Recipes To Make
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Parker House Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (one package)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup melted butter (cooled to room temperature)
- 2 large eggs
- 5 ½-6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup softened butter
Instructions
- Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Stir. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Pour the water/yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt, melted butter, and eggs. Stir.
- Add 3 cups of flour and mix thoroughly. Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.Note: this is a soft dough. Avoid adding too much flour, just enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. The amount of flour can vary depending on the climate and moisture in the dough. My chickens lay jumbo eggs so I might use a bit more flour than others.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a minute or two. Just until it comes together into a nice soft ball of dough.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic or a damp cloth.Let rise for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and cut in half. Cut each half piece in half again, and continue doing so until you have 16 balls of dough from each side (32 pieces total).
- Flatten each piece of dough with your hands and spread a small amount of softened butter over each one before folding them in half.Note: you only need a thin layer of softened butter on each piece of dough. No need to slather it on.
- Grease 2 (8-9") cake pans. Place 10 rolls around the outer rim of each pan (with the seam facing the edge of the pan), then 5 rolls in the center, then 1 roll in the middle.
- Cover pans loosely with plastic or a damp cloth and let rise for 30-40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake rolls for 18 minutes. You'll probably have a bit of softened butter left over. Melt the butter then brush over the baked rolls.
Stephen says
These rolls are really, really good. I wanted to home make rolls to stand in for the Sister Schubert rolls we've been eating with Thanksgiving dinner for years so I started looking online. I found this recipe and decided to test run it, as I learned years ago not to try something new on The Day Of. I have done two batches, and the reviewers were raving and stuffing rolls in their mouths. Our family Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow, and I will be serving two trays of these with the bird and fixin's. Thanks!
Brandy says
Stephen, so glad you liked these! They are a favorite in my house too!
Brandy says
These are my kids' favorite rolls. We use them as chicken mini sliders too!
Taylor says
When you freeze the already baked rolls, do you just take them out of the freezer and reheat them? Sorry for all the questions it’s my first time making rolls like these.
Brandy says
No problem! I typically let them sit on the counter to thaw then reheat for a few minutes in the oven or microwave. You can also reheat in the oven for about 5-7 minutes.
Taylor says
After freezing, how long should I thaw and do you just bake them like normal at 375F?
Brandy says
Hi! I’ve only ever frozen the baked rolls. I haven’t frozen unbaked roll dough to bake later. I know you can, I just haven’t. I’d imagine that you’d freeze them after placing them in the pan and then let them thaw and rise again before baking.
Taylot says
I used 2 8x8 pans and they turned out great. Will definitely be making these for holidays. Thank you!
Brandy says
Awesome!!
Taylor says
What can I use instead of a cake pan if I don’t have one?
Brandy says
You can probably use two 8x8 casserole dishes or cram them all into a 9x13" pan. I haven't tried that, but if it's too crowded just grab anothe pan for any that don't fit.
Catie says
When baking, what yeast do you use or does it matter?
Brandy says
I use active dry or instant. For me it doesn’t matter since I usually proof it in warm water, for a few minutes regardless of the type I use.
Jess says
These were amazing. East to make and we’re super yummy! These will be my holiday rolls from now on. Thank you!
Brandy says
So glad you liked them! 🙂
Jill Beesley says
Can I prep them today and bake them tomorrow?
Brandy says
Yes. https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/make-rolls-advance-bake-later-fridge-freezer-methods.html
Ulysses says
How much do I weigh them before I bake it in order to bake 32 rolls?
Brandy says
I don’t weigh them so I’m not sure. “Remove the dough from the bowl and cut in half. Cut each half piece in half again, and continue doing so until you have 16 balls of dough from each side (32 pieces total).”
Samantha says
Do you freeze than after baking? Thanks!
Brandy says
I usually freeze baked goods after they are baked, but you can store the dough balls and bake later. I just don’t have instructions for how to thaw frozen dough to bake later.
Amanda says
These are amazing. I would next time adjust and add more salt, however they turned out beautifully and taste identical to the chick fil a rolls my teenager specifically asked me to make. I brushed the tops with honey butter the last 5 min of baking and they are fantastic. Thank You!
Brandy says
Amanda, I'm so glad to hear this!