Parker House roll

Parker House roll
Type Bread roll
Place of origin United States
Creator Parker House Hotel
Main ingredients Flour, milk, butter or margarine, eggs, sugar
Cookbook:Parker House roll  Parker House roll

A Parker House roll is a bread roll made by flattening the center of a ball of dough with a rolling pin so that it becomes an oval shape and then folding the oval in half. They are made with milk and are generally quite buttery, soft, and slightly sweet with a crispy shell.

They were invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, during the 1870s,[1] and are still served there. They are often sold frozen for quick baking by bakeries such as Sister Schubert's. Fannie Farmer gives a recipe for them in her 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.

The story of their creation has several variations,[2][3] but they all involve an angry pastry cook throwing unfinished rolls into the oven, which resulted in their dented appearance. The recipe for Parker House Rolls first started appearing in cookbooks in the 1880s.[4]

References

  1. Smith, Andrew F, ed. Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. New York:Oxford University Press, 2004, Volume 1
  2. Mariani, John F. Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. New York:Lebhar-Friedman, 1999
  3. Early, Eleanor. New England Cookbook. New York:Random House, 1954
  4. Smith, Andrew F, ed. Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. New York:Oxford University Press, 2004, Volume 1

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