This 150-year-old recipe still produces perfectly soft and buttery rolls

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Many home cooks and bakers are intimidated by the prospect of baking bread. Sean Maloney, the chef at The Lodge at Primland, Auberge Collectionblames influencers for the way they romanticize the process – spending years making sourdough starters, experimenting with exotic fruit yeasts, demonstrating complicated folding techniques and debating scoring angles. “For beginners,” he says, “it can feel like bread is more of a science project than food.”

For a long time, bread – even as a professional chef – was also one of Chef Maloney’s biggest challenges, but for a different reason. “Some of that comes from my own nature,” he explains. “I don’t like waiting.”

Ultimately, the chef learned a lesson that, he says, changed his relationship with bread. It’s a lesson every home baker needs to learn too. “Baking bread is a meditative process,” says Maloney. “Slow down. Let the yeast work its magic. Learn to recognize the signals before moving on to the next step.”

What are those signs, you ask? When a dough has risen for the correct amount of time, it should be twice as large as it was at the beginning. “Watch your dough,” Maloney instructs. “Don’t just time it; become an active observer.”

That goes for every time you bake it. After all, bread dough is – in a sense – a living, breathing thing, which means it won’t always react the same way. “Every day, every season and every kitchen environment influences how your dough rises,” says the chef. So once your dough has properly expanded, you need to make sure it passes the touch test as well. As Maloney acknowledges, well-risen dough should spring back slowly when you lightly press the dough with your finger, creating a slight indentation.

Once the bread dough has risen, it must be degassed. This prevents large bubbles from forming in the bread during baking. Fortunately, Chef Maloney assures that the process is simple. “Just gently press the center of the ball with your fist until you feel the dough push back a little,” he instructs. “Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to fold the edges back over the center about a third until you’ve formed a nice ball.”

And when it comes to beginner-friendly breads worth trying at home, Parker House Rolls top the list. These soft, buttery rolls originated in Boston’s Parker House Hotel in the 1870s and quickly gained national attention—even making their way into the White House kitchen. By the end of the 19th century, they had become a staple recipe in American cookbooks, and they have held their place at the table ever since.

“If you’re curious about bread but hesitant to dive in, this is the perfect place to start,” says Chef Maloney. “This recipe is designed as an easy entry into the world of bread baking.” That said, there is One more thing to keep in mind: “Your first throw may not be perfect,” he admits, “but it will always be better than no throw at all.”

Recipe for Parker House Rolls

Thanks to Sean Maloney, Executive Chef at The Lodge at Primland

Ingredients:

19 g yeast
250 grams of warm water
65 g light brown sugar
111 g egg yolks
83g mixed oil
14 g salt
585 g bread flour
45 grams of milk powder

Preparation:

Dissolve the yeast, milk powder and sugar in warm water. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Mix everything with the remaining ingredients in a stand mixer and mix on the lowest setting for 5 minutes, and then on the highest setting for 8 minutes.

Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.

Degas the dough and divide it into 28 g balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spaced about a thumb’s width apart.

Let it rise again at room temperature until it has doubled in size and the rolls are just touching – this creates the signature “pull apart” look.

Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 8-12 minutes, until golden brown.

To serve, warm briefly in the oven, brush with melted butter and finish with some salt flakes.