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Salted Honey Parker House Rolls

These salted honey Parker House rolls are the PERFECT dinner roll for any occasion. They are soft and squishy, with a hit of both sweet and salty, and easier than you might imagine! I've provided really detailed instructions, and the hands-on time is short...these are the best rolls for Thanksgiving or holiday dinners, a total crowdpleaser!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Rising Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours
Course: Bread Recipes
Servings: 15 rolls

Ingredients

  • THE ROLLS
  • 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter softened (for the baking pan)
  • 562 g of all-purpose flour about 4 1/2 cups
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons 2 envelopes of instant or rapid rise yeast
  • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 1 1/3 cup of whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
  • 4 tablespoons of honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • FOR GLAZING
  • 1 large egg beaten, for egg wash topping
  • 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • Flaky sea salt like Maldon

Instructions

  • Make the dough:  In the bowl of your stand-up mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, and salt.  Give them a quick stir.
  • In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk, butter, and honey, until butter is melted.  Make sure it doesn't get too hot and scald the milk.  As soon as the butter is melted, remove from heat and set it aside to cool slightly (if it's too hot, the yeast won't rise).
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg and egg yolks.
  • Turn the mixer on low/medium (about a 3 to 4) and slowly pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients.  Add in the beaten eggs in as well. 
  • Mix with the machine on medium speed (I'd stay at about a 4 or 5 speed out of 10) for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl at first to get all the flour incorporated.  The dough will be soft and sticky and that's not only okay, it's what we want! 
  • Rub a medium bowl with about a teaspoon of olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes. Alternatively, cover with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours (if you have the time, you get even more amazing flavor).
  • Shape the rolls:  Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan or something comparable and set aside.  Note, if you had the dough in the fridge, it will need time to come to room temp or will need a longer second rise!
  • Gently punch down the dough and divide it into 15 equal pieces.  If you want them to be the same exact size, you can weigh them out (each piece of dough should weigh ~64 grams).  I live on the edge.
  • See my shaping video in the post above...basically, you kind of smoosh it into a flat-ish circle, then stretch and pull the edges to the middle, pinching the dough together into a ball.  Then roll the pinched seam on the counter to get a smooth ball.
  • Transfer them to the buttered pan, leaving space in between for them to rise.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let them rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  They should double in size and be puffy and supple.
  • Bake the rolls:  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash and transfer to the oven to bake until golden brown.  Start at 20-30 minutes, but it may need a tad more.  You want it to reach 200 F inside the middle of the rolls.  Honestly, I think mine could have used maybe 3 to 5 minutes extra and still not been overdone.
  • Glaze the rolls:  In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the honey. Mix together until smooth.  When the buns come out of the oven, immediately brush the tops with the honey butter mixture and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Notes

  1. You can store these rolls in a sealable plastic bag or container, at room temperature. 
  2. To rewarm them (which I recommend, wrap them in foil in a 200 F oven for 10 minutes. You can serve them with softened butter. 
  3. If you don’t have flakey sea salt, a pinch of kosher salt will work.
  4. To make these ahead, you can make the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight. In the morning, divide and assemble the rolls, then let them rise 20-30 minutes longer (until they’re puffy). 
  5. If rising in the fridge overnight, make sure to seal tightly wtih plastic wrap or the dough may form a crust.
  6. You can do this by hand (knead about 10 minutes) but I strongly recommend a stand mixer.