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, 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 in her 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book for them.
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