Parker House Rolls-easiest so far

This recipe for Parker House Rolls worried me so much whenever I'd think of trying it, that I never did. Until yesterday. I took the plunge and made them.

This is from Mel's Kitchen:

Parker House Rolls

Yield: Makes 36-42 rolls

Note: as with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I’ve added compared to the recipe. This tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be.

Ingredients

• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 6 – 7 cups flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted, for shaping rolls

Directions

1. Add hot water to sugar and oil and beat with electric mixer (or by hand). Add eggs and salt; beat well. When mixture is lukewarm, add yeast and keep beating. Add flour until a soft dough forms. Do not knead. Let rise in a lightly greased, covered, bowl for one hour or until doubled.
2. Divide the dough in half. Pat each portion of dough into an 9X14-inch (or so, doesn't have to be exact) rectangle. Brush with the melted butter.
3. Cut the dough into three long strips (see pictures below) and then cut each strip into 6-7 sections. You'll have about 18-21 little rectangles for each half of dough (so 36-42 total rolls).
4. Fold each little rectangle about a third of the way down over the butter; flip over and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Overlap the rolls so that each roll is sitting about 1/3 of the way on top of the roll above it. I place about 6-7 rolls down the short side of a 12X18-inch rimmed baking sheet with a total of 6 rows across the length of the baking pan (the pictures below help illustrate this - it isn't as complicated as it sounds)
5. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Brush tops with additional melted butter, if desired.

Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn A Few Step-by-Step Pictures: See the recipe for specific instructions.


 Despite the "do not knead" instruction that worried me so much, they turned out great! I have to admit, I did use my bosch dough hooks, and mixed a bit, which you might consider kneading, but this recipe doesn't require much kneading at all.(update12/8/15: I'd forgotten that this didnt need any kneading and i like to knead in the machine until it forms a soft dough...maybe I don't need to, but kneading doesn't hurt! they were so yummy) I have used a couple other recipes (trying to, sort of, combine Grandma Lois' and Martha Stewart's recipes) but because this simpler recipe turned out, I'll probably stick with this one.  I'll have to update later though, cuz after eating one of these, Caleb asked, "Mom, when are you going to make Grandma Lois' rolls?" I told him that they WERE those rolls. and he said "exactly her rolls?" and I said, "well no, there are a few differences in shape, and few other things, ..." so even though they tasted close enough to me, maybe i can't quite forget about grandma lois' recipe just yet...