Salted Honey Parker House Rolls
519
Updated Apr 23, 2026, Published Nov 06, 2024
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.
These Salted Honey Parker House Rolls are iconic, light and fluffy. They’re baked up until perfectly puffy and brushed with honey butter and topped with flakey sea salt. Serve them with Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Cranberry Sauce and Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie.
Ingredients for Salted Honey Parker House Rolls
- Instant Yeast – I love using instant yeast for this recipe because it allows us to skip a step. No blooming of yeast!
- All-purpose flour – This is the perfect flour that gives us a good bread-y texture.
- Honey – The honey adds a delicious sweetness on top of the rolls.
- Eggs – They provide a richness to the dough that we just love.
- Milk – I love using whole cow’s milk for this recipe. It will work with almond milk but the fat and body is what makes these rolls delicious.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Salted Honey Parker House Rolls
- You’re going to start by buttering your 9×13-inch baking pan. This butter is gonna add a bit of extra flavor to the rolls. (Note: You can also use another baking dish size or multiple baking dishes –whatever can fit!)
- In a stand-up mixer with the hook attachment, mix together the dry ingredients. OR in a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. We have all-purpose flour, instant yeast and salt.
- Melt the butter and pour in milk and honey. Whisk it until it’s smooth. This should be no hotter than 120F or else it will kill the yeast. Pour it into the center of the dry ingredients, along with the beaten eggs.
- Mix it all together. And knead it for a few minutes in the bowl. And then add it to a floured surface and knead it a few more times.
- Pour it to a greased bowl. And allow the dough to rise for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. If you are the type to use a food scale when baking, I weighed them out to 72 grams each. Shape them and put them in the pan and allow them to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Brush them with egg wash and bake ‘em! When they come out of the oven, brush them with the honey butter and top them with flakey sea salt! YUM!
Recipe FAQs
Do these need to be made with instant yeast? Can they be made with active dry yeast?
You can make these with active dry yeast by activating the dry yeast in the lukewarm milk. To do so, warm the milk and honey over medium low-heat (don’t add the butter yet – fat can prohibit yeast from working). Add it to a small bowl. Pour and mix in the active dry yeast and let it stand for 5-8 minutes. It will foam up and be very alive. Pour in the melted butter and proceed with the recipe.
***Note: If you’re using active yeast vs. instant, it may take a bit longer to get the rolls to double in size. Just go by the size versus the time. When I use instant it takes less time.
Can these be made ahead?
These are best the day of. But you can make them the day ahead. Refer below to some alternatives on how to make them ahead. We have options!
Can I make these without honey?
These have been tested with honey and the best results will be with honey. But you could replace it with two tablespoons of granulated sugar.
How do I reheat these rolls?
To rewarm them, wrap them in foil in a 200 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. You can serve them with softened butter.
What if I don’t have flakey sea salt for the topping?
You can simply use kosher salt or your favorite salt. Just use a pinch after you apply the honey butter.
Can I stuff them with something or add a different topping?
These French Onion Rolls are filled with gruyere and caramelized onions. These Garlic Twist Rolls have garlic, herbs and butter in them.
How to Make these Rolls Ahead
- Make the dough the day ahead – Make the dough, store the unassembled dough in the fridge sealed with plastic wrap or a lid. Assemble the day of.
- Make the dough and assemble the rolls – Make the dough, let it rise, assemble the rolls and then transfer the unbaked rolls to the fridge. Be sure to brush the top with a bit of oil so they don’t dry out and cover with plastic wrap. Bake the day of.
- Make the dough, assemble and bake off – This is my least favorite option because I like these freshly baked. But you can do this the day ahead. Store the cooled rolls in a sealable plastic bag and store them at room temperature. Warm them up just before serving.
Tips and Tricks
- Store these rolls – You can store these rolls in a sealable plastic bag and stored at room temperature.
- Jarred Yeast – If you’re not using the package of instant yeast and instead have a jar, you’ll be using 14 grams total of instant yeast. (Each envelope weighs 7 grams.)
- Rewarm the Rolls – To rewarm them, wrap them in foil in a 200 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. You can serve them with softened butter.
- Instant Yeast vs. Active Dry Yeast – You can use active dry yeast by adding the active dry yeast to the warm milk and honey mixture (don’t add the butter yet). Allow it to bloom and activate and get all foamy, about 10 minutes, then mix in the melted butter.
- Rub dough with olive oil – Be sure to rub the surface of the dough with a bit of olive oil or cooking oil.
- Cover tightly – And be sure to wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap if letting it rise in the fridge overnight or else the dough could form a crust. These are best the day of.
What to Serve with These Rolls
If you tried this Salted Honey Parker House Rolls Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Salted Honey Parker House Rolls
These Salted Honey Parker House Rolls are so fluffy and light. They’re baked up until perfectly puffy and brushed with honey butter and topped with flakey sea salt.
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature (for the baking pan)
- 4 1/2 (572g) cups all-purpose flour
- 4 1/2 teaspoons Instant Yeast, (see Notes for using dry active yeast)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
For Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg, (beaten, for egg wash topping)
For Honey Butter:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon honey
- Flakey sea salt
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan or something comparable and set aside. You can even use multiple baking pans if needed.
- *Note, this recipe uses a stand-up mixer but if you don’t have one, you can simply mix the ingredients together with a spatula and knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes!
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer (with the hook attachment), add the flour, yeast and salt. Mix until combined.
- In a small pot, set over medium-low heat, add the butter and when melted, pour in the the milk and honey. The mixture should be lukewarm; not too hot (no more than 120F or else it'll kill the yeast). If it does get a bit too hot, simply let it stand at room temperature until it cools down.
- In a small bowl, add the egg and egg yolks and beat until combined. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Next, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and knead with machine on medium speed for about 5-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- The dough will be sticky but still manageable! If it's super wet, then you can add in an additional tablespoon of flour. Rub a large bowl with about a teaspoon of oil, (I used olive oil), and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes or doubled in size (these times can vary depending on how warm/cold your home is).Alternatively, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise in the fridge for up to 12 hours (after 12 hours they tend to taste yeasty).
To Assemble the Rolls:
- Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. If you want them to be the same exact size, you can weigh them out. Each piece of dough should weigh about 72 grams. If the dough is super duper sticky, lightly dust your hands with flour.
- Roll the dough into balls, stretching the dough and pinching it under the ball of dough to make sure it has a smooth top.
- Transfer them to the buttered pan and allow them to rise for about 30 minutes OR until they have doubled in size and should be puffy and supple.*Note: if you let the dough rise in the fridge overnight, you can assemble them straight from the fridge but they may need to rise for a bit longer (since the dough will be quite cold). It may take about 1 1/2 hours for them to rise after assembled!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the tops of the rolls with egg wash and transfer to the oven to bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
To Make the Honey Butter:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the honey. Mix together until smooth.
- When the buns come out of the oven, immediately brush the tops with the honey butter mixture and sprinkle with flakey sea salt.
Notes
To Store and Reheat these Rolls:
- You can store these rolls in a sealable plastic bag and store them at room temperature.
- To rewarm them, wrap them in foil in a 200 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. You can serve them with softened butter.
- If you don’t have flakey sea salt, feel free to top them with a pinch of kosher salt.
- If you don’t have instant yeast, you can use active dry yeast by adding the active dry yeast to the warm milk and honey mixture (don’t add the butter yet). Allow it to bloom and activate and get all foamy, about 10 minutes, then mix in the melted butter and proceed with the recipe.
- The substitution for instant yeast to active dry yeast (for this recipe) is 1:1 (14 grams of total yeast).
- If you’re not using the package of instant yeast and instead have a jar, you’ll be using 14 grams total of instant yeast. (Each envelope weighs 7 grams.)
- To make these ahead, you can make the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight. The following morning, divide and assemble the rolls, let the rolls rise until puffy (about 1 1/2 hours) and bake.
- Before you put the dough in the fridge to rise, be sure to rub the surface of the dough with a bit of olive oil or cooking oil.
- And be sure to wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap if letting it rise in the fridge overnight or else the dough could form a crust. These are best the day of.
Nutrition
Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 601mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 464IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
This recipe was originally posted in November of 2020. It has since been updated to help you all achieve an *even* better result.
These rolls have about a 5-minute shelf-life before they’re devoured when I bring them to a dinner party. Also, making one batch is never enough…do yourself a favor, double it and make extra honey butter for dipping!
Thanks, Daniel! 🙂
The best rolls I’ve ever made!
I make these for my office potluck every year and they’re always a hit, and a make a second batch just for me. I have a question, though: in past years, I’ve let the dough rise in the fridge overnight and assembled and baked the next morning. I always misjudged how long the assembly would take and run late so this year I went for the second option of letting it rise normally and assembling, then putting the assembled rolls in the fridge. Is the instruction of waiting 1.5ish hours the next morning still recommended, or is there anything else to change if the rolls are going in cold?
Hi Alice! Ahh so glad you love them yay!! In terms of your questions, I actually haven’t tried it this way in particular. But I have a feeling you should judge them based on look. I would just bake them when they’ve doubled in size vs. a time frame. Sorry I can’t be more help – I just haven’t tried that option yet!
Hi Alice,
I’m planning to make these for Thanksgiving this year and planning to use the method of putting the risen, assembled rolls in the fridge overnight. How long did yours rise before you baked?
Thank you in advance!
Hillary
No need to rise them first. You don’t want them to overproof. So just put them in right after you assemble them. Wrap the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap. Then let them rise out of the fridge the next day until they’ve doubled in size. Let me know how it goes!
Yum! The recipe instructions were clear. Made them on the only humid day of the year so they over-proofed, but tasted delicious. I especially loved them the next day, when I could taste more of the sweetness from the inside. I did skip the honey on top and just put it in the dough, but my son said they were too sweet for him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t care for sweet rolls. If you are like him, you may want to scale back on the amount of honey in the dough. Although, I loved them! I especially loved them when they got a bit stale and I used them in my meatballs. Win-win.
Sounds amazing, Jamie!
I made these rolls exactly as recipe calls for and did the cold proof in the fridge for around 18 hours. They look fantastic and rise as expected, but I just tried one and they smell and taste like alcohol??? I did find that the amount of yeast in this recipe is almost double what other recipes call for so I must assume they are over fermented. REALLY weird smell and taste, texture looks good, colour looks good but they’re literally a throw away because of the smell and flavour. What a waste of time and ingredients.
In the recipe she specifically states if you let them rise in the fridge overnight not to exceed 12 hours due to a yeasty taste!
“Alternatively, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise in the fridge for up to 12 hours (after 12 hours they tend to taste yeasty).”
I hardly ever post reviews but this recipe is fantastic! I have been trying to make Parker House rolls for a while but haven’t found a recipe until this one. The dough is so soft and the rolls just melt in your mouth. Followed it exactly. Thank you for sharing! These are 10/10!!!
Hi Dana, I’m so happy you loved these. They’re a classic! 🙂
Great recipe! Straight forward instructions and the most delicious homemade rolls! I have made these for various family dinners and they are always a hit.
these rolls are delicious!
I’m wondering at what point could I freeze them and finish them off later?
Hi Nelle, So glad you loved them! You can definitely bake them, let them cool and wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them. I would thaw them on your kitchen counter. Good luck!
these rolls are delicious!
I’m wondering at what point could I freeze them and finish them off later
Have made a few times and they always turn out perfect!