Why do ingredients need to be at room temperature?

In many baking recipes, you'll often see that the ingredients are listed at "room temperature." This is because, when left at room temperature, things like eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredients form an emulsion that will actually trap air. That trapped air grows, pushing the baked good out up and makes things nice and fluffy. Which is what we want. So, this is also why I like to recommend setting out the ingredients the night before you plan to bake the rolls, so the ingredients have the chance to really get to room temp.

But will baking recipes still work if the ingredients aren't at room temperature?

Yes. If I'm being honest with you (I'm always honest with you), the rolls photographed here were made with ice cold eggs and it literally made zero difference. Why? Because the dough sits at room temperature as it proofs, giving everything the chance to normalize, temperature-wise. So, if you didn't plan ahead and set your things out in advance - don't even sweat it. This recipe is a bit of an exception to the rule of room temperature baking. It's mostly just nice to get in the habit of doing that (because it often does make a different in your final outcome). But it won't make or break your rolls in this case.

Okay, so what exactly is a Parker House Roll?

A Parker House Roll is made from an enriched dough, so very much in the same lane as say, a challah or a brioche. There’s some butter going on in there (a little extra in my recipe today, because more is more. amen), there is an egg, and there is some gorgeous, amber-sweet maple syrup. The syrup serves to give these rolls their truly wonderful depth of flavor, but it also acts as the requisite sugar here. Yeast, as it were, needs sugar in some form to bloom and grow and do its thing. The sugar (read: maple syrup) feeds the yeast. We’ll use a bit of salt (food tastes dead without it) in our homemade parker house rolls recipe, but you have to be careful when you add salt to a yeast-based item, such as these Parker House Rolls. While the sugar feeds the instant rise yeast, too much salt can actually kill it. So, we’re just using about ¾ teaspoon here. And it’s baby-bear-soup perfect.

Amazing Homemade Parker House Rolls Recipe (#1 reader favorite)

Giant Salted Maple Butter Parker House Rolls

Print Recipe

The best. Huge, soft, pillowy Parker House rolls that are perfect on any table, but especially on a holiday one. And when served with salty maple butter? It’s game over.

Author: Lauren McDuffie
Yield: Makes about 12 large rolls 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

4 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting and as needed)
1 packet of instant rise yeast
3/4 + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 cup warm milk
6 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
10 tablespoons salted butter, softened or at room temperature, divided
1 egg, at room temperature
Crunchy sea salt for sprinkling (you can sub regular kosher)

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Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together (whisk by hand) the flour, salt, and yeast.
Next, add the warm milk, 3 tablespoons of the maple syrup, the egg, and 4 tablespoons of the softened butter. Mix, with the dough hook now, until the flour is totally incorporated (about 3 to 4 minutes). If the dough seems way too sticky, you can add about ¼ cup more flour. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set the bowl in a room temperature place until it has doubled in size; about 20-ish minutes.
When it’s risen nicely, punch the dough down and transfer it to a well-floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a big, thin rectangle that measures roughly 14 to 15 inches in length (doesn’t have to be exact, just get it thin and even).
Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and the remaining 6 tablespoons of softened butter in a small bowl and add the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt (or a little less, if you think it tastes salty enough without it). Smear about half of this mixture all over the surface of the dough (like you’re making cinnamon rolls).
Working lengthwise, roll the dough into a log, as tight as you can. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into rolls, about 2 inches thick (again, does not have to be exact). Place these rolls in a lightly sprayed or greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan, seam side down. Cover again and let the rolls rise for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When they’re ready to bake, smear each roll with a little more salty maple butter, sprinkle with some crunchy salt, and bake until poofy, golden brown, and cooked all the way through; about 24 to 27 minutes.
Serve with the remaining salted maple butter and enjoy warm.

Find it online: https://mykitchenlittle.com/2024/03/29/homemade-parker-house-rolls-recipe/