Where to Try New England's Most Famous Bread Traditions

"The Parker House roll was invented at this storied Boston hotel in the 1870s; Susan Wilson, the hotel’s historian, calls it "the inspired creation of an in-house German baker named Ward," and notes that "the rolls’ precise ingredients, incidentally, remained a well-kept secret until 1933, when, according to legend, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt requested the recipe be forwarded to them in Washington." Bakery supervisor Laura Figueroa goes through about 220 Parker House rolls per day, selling them by the dozen at the hotel’s two dining venues, Parker’s Restaurant and the Last Hurrah." - Adam H. Callaghan