These Sourdough Parker House Rolls are SO rich and buttery (there’s butter in the dough, butter applied during shaping, and butter brushed on after baking), impossibly soft, and so simple to make. Parker House Rolls are famously folded over rather than being shaped like traditional rolls. This means they’re so easy to shape! Plus, they have a delicious buttery pocket.
We have a lot of favorite rolls at my house (honorable mentions to these soft sourdough dinner rolls, these sourdough crescent rolls, and these sourdough pretzel buns), but these Parker House rolls have beat them all out. I’m pretty sure my family wants me to continue testing these indefinitely because they got used to a fresh batch every day!
Quick Look: Sourdough Parker House Rolls
- Recipe Name: Sourdough Parker House Rolls
- Ready In: 13 hours
- Serves: 12 (makes 24 rolls, but people will want at LEAST 2!)
- Calories: 125 calories per roll
- Main Ingredients: All purpose flour, egg, sugar, active sourdough starter, whole milk, salt
- Why You'll Love It: So simple to make, and unbelievably good! These rolls have the best texture (soft and chewy), and the best flavor (there’s butter added at every step). Plus, they’re so easy to make.
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Parker House Rolls hail from the famous Boston hotel, where legend has it a frustrated baker in the late 1800’s decided to go ahead and bake some malformed dough. He folded it over to make the best of a bad situation, and the rest is history. The rolls are still served there today!
(Fun fact! The Boston Cream Pie also comes from the Parker House Hotel.)
I wanted a sourdough roll that was SO easy to make it could be nearly hands-off, and these fit the bill. The dough is exceptionally easy to work with - it can be made by hand or with a stand mixer - and shaping is as simple as cutting dough and folding it.
This dough will be very dry when you first mix it. Don't worry! It will come together as you're kneading and be a soft, pliable dough that's a dream to work with!
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Sourdough Parker House Rolls
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Easy Substitutions + Variations
- How To Make Sourdough Parker House Rolls
- Expert Tips
- Sourdough Parker House Roll FAQ’s
- Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- More Easy-To-Shape Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love
- Sourdough Parker House Rolls
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients - The ingredient list here is short and simple - you probably already have everything you need to make these!
- A really pleasant dough - I LOVE handling this dough. When you initially mix it, it will be on the drier side, but it will come together during kneading. It’s maybe the least sticky sourdough I’ve ever made, and all the butter in it prevents sticking.
- The easiest shaping ever! - These rolls are so fun to shape. Just roll out the risen dough, cut into squares, then fold each one over itself and nestle into a (generously) buttered pan.
- The pocket is so fun - Since these are folded, each roll has a little pocket. It’s perfect for jam, honey, or even making sandwiches.
Key Ingredients
Unsalted butter - There’s melted butter in the dough, brushed over the dough before shaping, and brushed over the baked rolls. It’s added at virtually every step, and makes these SO good.
Whole milk - There’s no water in these, only whole milk. This is part of what makes them so soft and rich.
Egg - Egg adds fat and richness to the dough, and helps it to develop some color.
All purpose flour - Use all purpose flour here to keep these ultra-soft.
Sugar - Adds color, flavor, soft texture, and extends the shelf life of the rolls. Don’t skip it!
Active sourdough starter - These are leavened with just an active sourdough starter.
Easy Substitutions + Variations
- If you only have salted butter, go ahead and use it! You’ll want to reduce the salt in the dough to 9 grams.
- Brush the rolls with honey butter after they’re baked - We love this for a sweeter roll. Whisk 1 ½ tablespoons of honey into the remaining melted butter before brushing over the baked rolls. It will soak into the rolls and be so good!
How To Make Sourdough Parker House Rolls
Expert Tips
- Use a metal baking pan - A metal pan will give you the best browning and most consistent bake time. I highly recommend the pan listed in the recipe card!
- Wear a kitchen glove to butter the pan - Any time I use a paper towel to butter a baking dish, the paper towel absorbs so much of it! I’ve started wearing a kitchen glove instead - none gets absorbed and it’s so much easier to wedge into corners.
- Don’t worry if the butter re-solidifies when mixed with the milk and egg - it will soften and incorporate during kneading.
- You can mix these with a stand mixer - If you prefer to do these with a mixer rather than by hand, it will take about 5-6 minutes mixing on LOW speed to get the dough smooth. As always, go by visuals rather than an exact time.
- You don’t need to arrange these neatly in rows in the pan - Just wedge in wherever they fit.
Sourdough Parker House Roll FAQ’s
Yes! Just divide the dough into however many pieces you want. Resizing won’t affect bake time here.
I don’t recommend it. The sugar does so much for these rolls (only some of which is add sweetness), that it would too drastically change the outcome to leave it out.
Yes! You can do the second rise in the fridge overnight. You may need to let them finish rising on the counter at room temperature before baking depending on how much they puff up in the fridge. You want a robust second rise here for super fluffy rolls.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Storage - Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 5 days at room temperature. I highly recommend reheating in the microwave, toaster, or oven before eating as these really are best warm.
- Making ahead - You can arrange these in the pan, cover well, and refrigerate overnight. Depending on how much they puff up during their time in the fridge, you may need to let them finish rising at room temperature for a few hours before baking. Make sure they’ve risen well before moving ahead with baking.
More Easy-To-Shape Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love
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Sourdough Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 200 grams whole milk
- 100 grams active sourdough starter
- 50 grams sugar
- 1 egg
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 13 grams salt
- For the pan, filling, and topping: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the butter, milk, starter, sugar, and egg. Add the flour and salt and mix until all the flour has been incorporated. This is a very dry dough at this point in the recipe. You will need to mix by hand once the flour has been moistened. Once there are no dry piles of flour in your bowl, you're ready to move onto the next step.
- Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and knead for 5-8 minutes, until dough begins to look smooth.
- Shape the dough into a ball and return to the bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size - about 8-10 hours.
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch metal baking pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and set aside.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a roughly 11 x 14-inch rectangle. Brush the top of the dough with a light coating of melted butter. (You will have some left over - set this aside for after the rolls are baked). Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into a 6 x 4 grid (this will give you 24 pieces of dough). Take one piece of dough at a time and fold almost in half, leaving a bit of overhang on the bottom. Arrange in the prepared baking pan with the shorter side facing the bottom of the pan. You don’t need to arrange these neatly in rows - just fit them wherever they can go.
- Once all the rolls are in the pan, use your hands to gently flatten them to cover the whole bottom of the pan. Pay special attention to press down the overhanging edges - these tend to want to pop up while baking. Cover and let rise until puffed up - about 1-2 hours.
- Toward the end of the second rise, arrange an oven rack in the top ⅓ of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 24-27 minutes, until baked through to at least 200 degrees and browned to your liking. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining melted butter. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then pull apart to serve.
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