Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls

A tray of parker house dinner rolls.

Who doesn’t love a basket full of soft dinner rolls on the table?  Rolls with a little crust and a tender crumb. Buttery, rich and light.  When you make this garlic herb parker house rolls recipe, the meal feels special.  So whether you’re making these easy homemade yeast rolls for a holiday meal or just a special weekend dinner, your guests will appreciate the effort. 

making garlic herb butter mixture.

Homemade Parker House yeast rolls

I’ve come across an easier technique for forming the rolls which I had to share with you — and the dough for this garlic herb parker house rolls recipe is a dream to work with, making some of the best dinner rolls we’ve had in a while.

mixing wet and dry ingredients for soft dinner rolls.

The recipe starts with the garlic herb mixture, gently bathed in melted butter until fragrant and then mixed with warmed milk and a farm fresh egg. Make sure the wet ingredients aren’t hotter than 115° — you don’t want to risk killing the yeast in the next step.

Combine the flour with salt, sugar and yeast (Note: This recipe uses slightly more than 1 packet of yeast) and mix in the wet ingredients. Use a stand mixer with a dough hook to mix and knead the dough for these easy homemade yeast rolls about seven minutes.

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If you’re making them by hand, knead the dough for about ten minutes, or until smooth and elastic. It takes about 90 minutes for the dough to rise the first time.

rising dough for easy homemade yeast rolls

In the original Parker House rolls recipe, the directions call for cutting the rolls into rounds, buttering them liberally and then folding them over onto themselves and arranging in a pan.  It’s a messy, finicky, cuss-inducing endeavor. So when I found this technique, (by King Arthur Flour) I was intrigued and had to try it.

Easier Method To Make Parker House Rolls Recipe:

  1. Instead of fussing with rounds of dough, roll or pat half of the dough into an 8″ x 12″ rectangle — get our your ruler…
  2. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough in half, vertically.
  3. Brush the top of the dough with melted butter.
  4. Fold the dough over on itself, leaving about a 1/4″ – 1/2″ gap.
  5. Use the pizza cutter to slice the rolls into 3″ rolls.
  6. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
  7. Arrange in a 13 x 9″ pan with the long end of the rolls running the length of the pan.
  8. Cover and let rise for an additional 45-60 minutes.
  9. Bake.
method for forming parker house rolls.

I love using the pizza cutter when working with pastry, like in this Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid from last Christmas. It’s essentially an extension of your hand and unlike working with a knife, there’s no pull and tug on the dough when you slice. Letting the dough rise a second time ensures soft dinner rolls that are tender and lush.

cutting easy homemade yeast rolls and arranging in pan.

I’m completely sold on this technique and oh-ma-GAWD… it makes the best dinner rolls. While the rolls may not be completely uniform, that’s part of their charm and a tell-tale sign that you’ve made the effort to make dinner rolls from scratch.

a pan of baked parker house rolls.

After baking the parker house rolls recipe, brush on more butter for a simple finish (or if you want more a garlic herb forward roll add more garlic and herbs to the melted butter before brushing it over the top of the hot rolls).

sneaking a parker house roll from the pan.

This is good eating! And if you like these dinner rolls, I’m betting you’ll also want to check out my Homemade Crescent Rolls! Or these easy no yeast, no knead Cheddar Chive Popovers. Enjoy!

taking a parker house roll.

More soft yeast rolls you’ll love:

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Parker house rolls piled on a plate.
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4.78 from 9 votes

Garlic Thyme Parker House Rolls

Who doesn’t love a yeasty roll with dinner?  These are rich and buttery, flaky and tender.  It takes a bit of finagling with the dough and butter, but if they don’t look perfect, who cares?
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword christmas, easter, rolls, thanksgiving
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 16

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh herbs chopped (I used thyme, but you can also use rosemary or sage)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • teaspoons instant yeast (that’s one package of yeast + 1/4 teaspoon)
  • ¾ cup instant mashed potato flakes
  • teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter divided
  • 2 cloves garlic minced (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Add the butter, garlic and thyme to a small skillet. Heat over medium low to medium heat until butter melts and is a little bubbly and thyme and garlic are fragrant. (don’t brown the garlic). Remove from heat and let cool.
  • In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, potato flakes, salt and sugar. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • Add the milk to a 2 cup glass measuring cup and microwave in 30 second bursts to take the chill off the milk. (You don’t want the milk to go over 115 degrees otherwise, it could kill the yeast.)
  • Add the butter mixture and egg to the milk and whisk to combine.
    Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix together until combined. Knead for 7 minutes if using a dough hook and stand mixer or knead for 10 minutes by hand, until dough is smooth.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise for 90 minutes.
  • Divide the dough in half.
    On a lightly greased work surface, roll or pat the dough into a 8” x 12”rectangle.
    Use a pizza cutter to cut that dough in half to form two 4” x 12” rectangles.
    Brush the dough with 3/4 tablespoons of the melted butter, then gently fold one half of the dough over the other, vertically, leaving the bottom dough protruding about 1/2” more than the top.
    Do the same with the other rectangle of dough.
  • Use the pizza cutter to cut the rectangles into 3” lengths. Arrange the dough in a lightly greased 13 x 9” pan so that the longer edge of the rolls goes along the longer edge of the pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough. and fill the rest of the pan with the remainder of the rolls so there are 4 rows of 4 rolls each. Lightly brush the tops of the rolls with 3/4 tablespoon  melted butter
  • Cover with a dish towel and let rise an additional 45 minutes to an hour. Towards the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

FINISHING GARLIC HERB PARKER HOUSE ROLLS RECIPE:

  • Traditional Parker House rolls are brushed with melted butter just before serving. (That’s what I’ve done here)
  • For more garlic herb flavor on the soft dinner rolls, melt the butter in a pan over medium low heat and add the additional chopped garlic and thyme. Cook for about a minute, just to soften the garlic and take away some of the bite, then brush the garlic herb butter over the hot rolls and serve.

RECIPE VIDEO:

YouTube video

NUTRITION:

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 222mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 215IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Pin “Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls Recipe” For Later!

Love soft dinner rolls? This Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls Recipe make the best dinner rolls. Try these easy homemade yeast rolls tonight. #parkerhouserollsrecipe #softdinnerrolls #fluffydinnerrolls #thanksgivingdinnerrolls #easyhomemadeyeastrolls #garlicherb #bestdinnerrolls #thanksgiving #christmas #easter #yeastrolls #butterrolls #softrolls #garlicbread #holidayrolls #holidays #yeastrolls #homemadeyeastrolls

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19 Comments

  1. Cindy Jones says:

    Could you freeze the dough and cook later?

    1. I wouldn’t freeze the dough… Make the rolls and bake them, then wrap and freeze until you’re ready to serve. Thaw and reheat.

  2. 5 stars
    These Parker Rolls turned out great.
    Served them with Creamy Pumpkin Soup
    with Pumpkin Gnocchi.
    Great for this cold fall day.

    1. So glad they worked for you! And, hello, pumpkin gnocchi???

  3. 5 stars
    These garlic rolls looks so flavorful and tasty! Made it looks so easy to do as well! Thanks for sharing!

  4. 5 stars
    wow, these garlic rolls are the bomb! Perfect addition to a dinner or just eat on their own. Love garlic bread this is definitely a must bake item and perfect for upcoming holidays.

    1. Thank you Lauren — I’ve made parker house rolls before — and this method is by far the easiest and most reliable.

  5. Camilla Hawkins says:

    5 stars
    Loving the unusual folded shape of these rolls plus the lush garlic and herb flavour, perfect with a bowl of soup!

  6. 5 stars
    Gorgeous recipe, Lisa…just wow! I love yeasted, homemade rolls for holiday dinners and these are going to disappear in moments!

  7. 5 stars
    Drooling over here. That garlic butter looks amazing. I’ve always been kind of afraid of making my own rolls, but you make it seem so easy. I totally need to try this!

  8. I sure hope my daughter is making these for our Thanksgiving feast!

  9. curlsnchard says:

    They sound so super easy – I’ve got two questions for you though: what’s the reason for refrigerating the rolls before baking? And, do you think it would work with spelt flour as well? I love the slightly heartier taste of spelt 🙂

    1. Hmm, I’ve never worked with spelt flour, so I’m not sure. I looked up the difference and got this: Because the gluten in spelt is more soluble than wheat gluten, making yeast bread with spelt is also different than making it with wheat. The individual gluten molecules join up more readily to form long chains and sheets that trap the gas produced by yeast. This means that it is possible to over-knead spelt bread. I think I would replace about 1/3 of the regular flour with the spelt and see if that works… Please let me know!

  10. I wish I could grab one out of the pan!! These rolls look amazing 🙂 garlic makes everything better!

    1. I agree – garlic makes everything better!

  11. Nutty Nutritionist says:

    Yum yum! I’m always in charge of bread for Thanksgiving and I”m totally making these!!

  12. 5 stars
    Wow, these look fantastic! I’ve never made rolls before. These are going on the must try list for sure!

    1. Who doesn’t love rolls?