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These Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls are light, airy, buttery, perfectly salted, and SO delicious. Serve them warm right out of the oven with homemade honey butter for a dinner roll that’s melt in your mouth good. Incredibly quick and easy to make and uses just six everyday staple ingredients. It doesn’t get easier or tastier than that! These are the perfect rolls for all of your upcoming holiday dinners…Thanksgiving included!
This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s®.
If there’s one thing that my mom really passed on to me it’s a love of soft, buttery dinner rolls. She’d make a point most Sunday nights to bake fresh bread for the family dinner. Just like dessert, mom would often have the bread ready to go before dinner was even a thought. That’s just how she does it, carbs and chocolate. Everything else was secondary. And for that, I love her even more.
Seeing as we both share a love for good bread, you can imagine that it’s a very important item on our Thanksgiving table. And that’s where these Parker House Rolls come into play. These rolls are on my 2019 menu. They are some of the BEST rolls to come out of my kitchen. They’re simple, but yet have “special touches” that make them worthy of any holiday table.
My two secrets? Salted butter and sweet honey butter.
The background…
The story is that Parker House Rolls were created by the Parker House in Boston. It was one of the great nineteenth-century hostelries. As you can imagine, the rolls have been copied by just about every cookbook author and baker that’s out there…myself now included. There are a lot of variations, but classic Parker House Rolls should be light, soft, and a touch sweet.
The dough is traditionally shaped into a folded over roll, but these days there are many ways in which to do it! I ended up rolling mine into coils for a fun, pretty touch.
To make the dough.
As you can tell, my recipe is a little different than the classic. I’m using honey in place of sugar and salted butter. Two simple ingredients that make ALL the difference.
For the dough, simply mix flour with Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast, and a pinch of salt. Add warm milk, a touch of honey, and salted butter. Mix until smooth, let the dough rest for ten to fifteen minutes, and then it’s time to shape the rolls. And that’s the beauty of Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast! We get to skip an entire hour-long rise. Yes, please!
To shape the rolls.
Shaping the rolls is easy. If you’ve made a cinnamon roll, you can make these Parker House Rolls.
To keep it simple, just take strips of dough and roll them up into a tight coil. I have a bunch of photos to help you guys visually with what your rolls should look like. Once you complete one roll, you will quickly get the hang of the process.
When all the rolls have been shaped and arranged in a baking dish, cover the dish and let the rolls rise until puffy, about twenty to thirty minutes. Then bake! Minutes later your kitchen will be smelling like glorious home-baked bread.
Let’s talk about that honey butter…
Of course, me being me, I had to include a little honey butter. You all know it’s my favorite and I cannot think of a better butter to pair with these soft rolls. The sweetness from the honey is mouth-watering on a warm, fresh out of the oven roll.
Especially when topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt as well.
What I love most about these rolls is that you really can’t mess them up. The dough and process are so easy and very forgiving. Trust me, if you’re fearful of making bread, start with this recipe. It’s SO GOOD every time.
And yes, you should make these for Thanksgiving. They’re perfect for soaking up all that gravy and then eating for breakfast the next morning. There’s nothing not to love.
Again, soft, buttery, perfectly sweet, and just a touch salty. What every dinner roll should aspire to be!
If you make these salted honey butter parker house rolls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the how-to video:
Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories Per Serving: 290 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more if needed
- 1 packet Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- flaky sea salt for topping
Honey Butter
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the warm milk, honey, the egg, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or up to a few hours at room temperature. 2. To make the honey butter. Combine the butter and honey together in a small bowl. 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Turn out the dough, punch it down, and divide the dough in half. Roll each half to a 12-inch square, about 1/4-inch thick. Brush each square with honey butter, saving any leftover butter for serving. Cut each square of dough into 6 strips. Roll each strip into a coil (see above photo) and arrange seam side down in the prepared baking dish. 5. Cover the dish and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes, until they're puffy. Alternately, you can let the rolls sit in the fridge overnight.6. Bake the rolls for 18-25 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with the remaining honey butter. Pull them apart to serve warm with flaky sea salt.
Notes
To Make Ahead: prepare the rolls through step 4. Do not let the rolls rise at room temp. Cover the rolls and place in the fridge (up to overnight). When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge 30 minutes prior to baking, then bake as directed.
To Prepare and Freeze: assemble the rolls through step 5, then cover the pan and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the rolls overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours. Once thawed, bake as directed.
To Bake and Freeze: bake the rolls as directed and let cool completely. Cover well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and warm before serving.
To Use Active Dry Yeast: Mix 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast with the warm milk and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and foamy on top. Add the flour and follow the directions as listed for the remainder of the recipe.
{This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s®. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
Hi Tieghan! I want to make these for my Thanksgiving…but I dont have a stand mixer….Can i use the handheld one?
Thanks in advance! Using all your recipes this year for my family Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hey Tracy,
If your handheld mixer has a dough hook then yes you can do that. If not, just mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand until you have a smooth dough ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Another home run!! I made these rolls for a Friendsgiving and everyone complimented me. So I feel it’s only right to compliment you.
I made 3 batches cause we are a large group. I’m wondering if this recipe can be double? I know that in baking some recipes are touchy and need to be made in single batches, however this recipe is very forgiving on rise time.
Look forward to making more of your recipes.
Hey Lisa,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) I would stick with separate batches rather than doubling:) Happy Thanksgiving! 🍽
I doubled mine last year and it worked great.
I am a little confused, since you need to let the yeast process in warm milk, does that add an additional cup of milk to the recipe? Or just one?
Hi Tula,
Nope, you can follow the recipe as written:) You only need one cup of milk. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Made these for Friendsgiving this weekend, and they were a HIT! I can’t wait to make them again for my in-laws’ Thanksgiving celebration this week.
Hey Lex,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) Happy Thanksgiving! 🍽
We just made these to test out as a practice before having family over for Thanksgiving. Our son is gluten free so we try and practice these in hopes they turn out decent enough for him on the real day. We haven’t had a lot of success with breads so far, hence why we deceived to try it out beforehand. We used Bob’s Red Mill flour, added a little extra milk and a little less flour and they turned out AMAZING! Thank you! He is going to love these (especially having them twice in one week).
Hey Katy,
Amazing!! So glad this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making them and sharing your feedback! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
WOW I just make these Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls in preparation for Thanksgiving but they did not even last past the cooling rack! So yummy amazing! My 5yr old helped me -she had so much fun rolling- and everyone is begging me to please make another batch tonight! Looks like these will be a staple in our house now too. Thank you for yet another another stellar recipe Tieghan!
Hey Lauren,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! xT
I made these last year and they were such a hit! This year i plan on doubling the recipe. My question is about the pan size. If using the slide for 24 servings, the ingredients double but not the pan size. Thoughts? Two pans? And… do you suggest making two batches of dough or doubling at one time. Thanks and happy holidays!
Hey Wendy,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! Yes, I would do 2 batches and 2 pans, breads can get finicky when doubling:) xT
Hey Tieghan!
I’m recently dairy free for my breastfeeding newborn who is having trouble with dairy. Is it possible to replace the milk and butter with dairy free options? I have made these rolls before and really liked them so I was hoping to be able to again.
Also didn’t realize I accidentally rated the recipe with three stars. It deserves five
no worries:)
Hi Anna,
You could definitely use dairy free milk, but I would recommend the butter for this recipe:) So sorry! I hope this helps! xT
Hi Tieghan,
Planning to freeze after step 5. Do you think I could rise/freeze/bake in aluminum pans? I would wrap them in foil when freezing. Just trying to eliminate glass in my freezer.
Thanks! Using so many of your recipes for (my first time) hosting Thanksgiving this year 😊
Hi Denah. Not Tieghan here but.. I do have about 20 years of experience home baking nearly all the bread my family consumes, and this includes hundreds if not thousands of rolls (savory and sweet) provided for big holiday meals over the years. Yes, you absolutely can prep and freeze in foil pans. The most important part of freezing dough and breads is getting an airtight seal, so I advise covering in plastic wrap then foil for freezer storage. I have done and still do this for large batch dinner rolls at holiday times as well as literally hundreds of cinnamon rolls each Christmas. Sorry for hijacking the reply here but hey, it’s Thanksgiving week when I imagine time is if the essence and we are all busy bees. Hope this helps!
Thank you Melissa! I appreciate you answering as I plan to prep these today. I will prep them and freeze them uncooked covered in plastic wrap and foil then bake on Thursday 😊 one less thing to do!
Hi Denah,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Question for you, I’ve never made these ahead before, I’ve went to make these this weekend and freeze for Thanksgiving, in the prepare and freeze it says to prepare thru step 5, do I actually do step 5 and let them sit for 30mins to ride then freeze? Or put them directly in freezer and do not do step 5?
Hey Krystal,
You are going to do step 5 and then freeze. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I highly recommend these! I have been searching for a good roll recipe for years and discovered these last year. If you’re on the edge of whether to make these or not, do it! I will probably be making these forever, no need to keep searching for a recipe 🙂
Thank you so much Sydney, love to hear this:)
Hi in your recipe it says melted butter for the honey butter. After I made the first batch (trial batch) I watched the video and you used softened butter. Which do you use??
Hey Kellyjo,
Either one is great to use, it will turn out the same either way:) Thanks for giving the recipe a try! xT
I have an 11 month old and can’t have honey, can I substitute with sugar? If so, what kind and how much! Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Libby,
I would recommend using an equal amount of maple syrup in place of the honey. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Am I able to make these ahead of time and then bake them on thanksgiving? Or do they need to be baked after rising?
Hey Courtney,
You bet, you can follow the make ahead instructions listed above:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Would love to use whole wheat flour. Would you suggest trying 100% whole wheat or some other percentage to update Parker house rolls to have more fiber?
Hi Linda,
I’ve not tested this, but you could certainly try using an equal amount of whole wheat flour, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Question – In the notes you say that can refrigerate up to 24 hours. But in your Thanksgiving Guide you say to prep these on Tuesday to Bake on Thursday. Can they be refrigerated longer than 24 hours before baking?
Hey Jen,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx