Parker House Rolls

First of all let me say a Happy Thanksgiving to all you American Readers. I know you will be working your butts off today to bring your families a delicious dinner. I so wish that I could be counted amongst the loved ones at your tables, but alas . . . I am here, and you are there!

Just in case you are looking for a tasty dinner roll to serve at your holiday meal, I wanted to show you these tasty Parker House Rolls that I made today. Not only are they effortless to make, but they're also very quick. You can have them on your table in a couple of hours. Pop them into the breadmaker to make the dough, shape and then let them rise while you are getting on with the rest of your meal preparations. Easy peasy . . . lemon squeasy.



I have never made a secret of the fact that I am yeast challenged! I just don't have the oomph needed to make beautiful bread. The secret is in the kneading and that's where my weakness lies.



I recently discovered a lovely baking site, that is filled with lots of baking recipe ideas called Baking Mad.com. It's filled with lots of hints and expert baking tips for everything from cakes to breads and everything in between. There's also a community forum where you can chat with people and get feedback on direct questions about your baking needs. The recipes are well laid out and easy to follow. There's even a delicious section on Credit Crunch Baking. I don't know anyone who can't make good use of that. We can use all the help we can to save money these days!



Today I decided to bake their tasty looking Parker House Roll recipe and I was well impressed with the way they turned out. It was relatively painless and the end result was rolls that were as light as a cloud and oh so tasty.



Todd was out gallivanting in the city when I baked them, and he was rewarded with the smell of freshly baking bread when he came in the door. Was he a happy camper, oh boy!



Of course I had to have one warm and fresh out of the oven, spread with butter and peanut butter. Did that ever bring back some lovely childhood memories of coming home from school and finding my mom had baked bread. She always treated us to a fresh slice with butter and peanut butter spread on it. (You just can't teach an old dog new tricks! )



*Parker House Rolls*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Light and fluffy rolls that begin in the breadmaker! Perfect!

225ml milk (7.6 fluid ounces or one scant cup)
2 medium free range eggs, beaten
5 TBS butter, melted (plus extra for glazing)
2 TBS granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
450g of very strong bread flour (4 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 tsp easy bake yeast

Put the dough ingredients into your bread maker according to the directions for your particular model. (See your manufactureres handbook.) Set to the dough cycle, and wait for it to finish.

Once finished, remove the dough from the machine and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle 12 inches by 8 inches in diameter. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough lengthwise into 4 equal strips. Cut each strip into 3. This should give you 12 equally sized rectangles.

Butter a baking sheet, or a 12 by 15 inch baking pan. Brush each rectangle with some melted butter. Fold in half short end to short end. Place the rolls into the greased baking pan/sheet.

Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm place, leaving until they are risen to double in size. Preheat the oven to 180*C/375*F/ gas mark 6. Glaze the rolls with some more melted butter.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack.



Baking Mad also has a Facebook Page and are on Twitter should you want to like or follow!
There's also a handy YouTube channel which has lots of handy hints, tips and videos on it.



I'm doing Boneless Hot Wings, over in The Cottage today!