Sweet Potato & Honey Parker House Rolls
Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away? I have been looking forward to it for most of the year, though now that it is here, I feel no where near ready! While I think it is important to share traditions with our children while they are young, I am also trying to be honest with myself that I may need to let some things slide this year and use the holiday time to rest and rejuvenate. This has been an incredibly busy year for us, and I am ready for a bit of a break!
While we have the thought of restfulness on our minds, why not consider making a batch of rolls? I love adding potatoes in my breads to bring flavor and silkiness to a basic recipe! I thought I would make Parker House rolls with the addition of sweet potatoes and honey. A perfect recipe for your holiday table!
what are parker house rolls?
Parker House rolls are a creation from 1855 (a perfect time period for us!) from the Parker House hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. This hotel also created the Boston Cream Pie. Pretty fun!
Parker House rolls are special because of their shape and the addition of butter in between rolls of each coil. In a similar fashion to making cinnamon rolls, you brush on butter before rolling each piece up, and the inside is deliciously creamy and flavorful. Yum! This dough also uses the additions of milk, egg, and more butter to create a truly rich brioche-like dough.
the method:
This dough incorporates some rich ingredients. I prefer to use buttermilk when making this dough, as it gives it a unique flavor. You may use whole milk or whichever type of milk that you prefer instead.
As for adding the sweet potato, you will want to be cautious about how much you put in and the water content. Because your sweet potatoes may be more wet than mine, the amount of flour will vary. It is always best when baking any bread to pay attention to when the dough releases from the sides of the bowl and becomes this big, sticky ball on the dough hook. If you are kneading by hand, which you can certainly do, then it is when the dough no longer sticks in clumps all over your hands.
After almost a decade of baking bread from scratch, I have learned that a slightly wet, sticky dough is better than a smooth, dry dough. A lot of cookbooks or online recipes will instruct you knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, and as a beginner baker, I always took this to mean when the dough stopped looking “shaggy” or “rough” and this really isn’t the case. At least, this does not mean to keep adding flour until it is no longer shaggy. Simply continue to knead the dough until it has smoothed out but is still moist. The more wet the dough is, the better it will rise!
This dough, however, takes a bit longer to rise due to density of its ingredients. Rather than a 60 minute first rise, you will want to wait about 90 minutes. If your kitchen is cold, it may take longer.
After deflating the dough, divide it into two pieces and roll each out to an 8x12-inch rectangle. This recipe should make 15 rolls, but I have ended up with more. It is slightly inconsistent. Make sure to roll your dough all the way to the edge to flatten it out evenly.
These can be a bit of a mess to make, when it comes to brushing on the honey butter and then rolling up each coiled bun. There will be some drippings coming out the sides, so just enjoy the process! It’s not a bad job to lick your fingers afterwards.
If you would like to serve these rolls to your dinner guests, you can make them a day ahead. After shaping the rolls and putting them in the pan, cover the pan with plastic wrap and place the pan in the refrigerator. Before baking, let the rolls come to room temperature or until they become puffed. Then bake as instructed.
I hope you enjoy these!
xoxo Kayla
Sweet Potato & Honey Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 - 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato, cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp honey
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Set this aside.
- In a small saucepan, warm the 2 tbsp butter and buttermilk until the milk is blood warm and the butter has started to melted. Let it sit for about 4-5 minutes.
- Pour the warm butter and milk into the flour mixture. Begin to knead the dough on medium speed until most of the flour as been absorbed by the liquid. Stir in the egg and mashed sweet potato.
- Begin to add the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms that no longer clings to the sides of the bowl. It should still be soft and a bit sticky. It is better for the dough to be wetter than too stiff, as it will not rise.
- Knead the dough into a ball, and place into a large bowl that has been lightly greased. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp, clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the melted butter and honey until smooth. Let this cool slightly.
- Punch down the dough and turn it out onto the counter. Divide the dough into two pieces. If you can, try not to use any flour on the countertop. If you need to use, use only a small amount. Roll each half of the dough into a 8x12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with about 2/3 of the honey butter. Slice each half of dough into about 8 equal strips. Roll the strips into coils, pinching the ends closed. There will be a bit of a mess of honey butter!
- Place the rolls into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. The coiled ends should touch each other. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a damp, clean kitchen towel and let them rise until nearly doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. When the rolls are puffed, bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top and fully cooked in between. You can check this by gently pulling apart the rolls with a pairing knife. Let the rolls cool for about 15 minutes before brushing them with the remaining honey butter.
