Homemade Crescent Rolls – sweet and soft with a slight crust on the top and bottom, and fluffy buttery on the inside. A great make-ahead dinner rolls for your holiday meal!
It was around post Christmas last year when I tried my hands on these sweet, soft and buttery homemade crescent rolls. Honestly, I wasn’t that confident to make these as I thought I might be having issues with the dough (yeah, I still do get that fear from time to time 😉 ). But the bread lover in me screams for an adventure!
And what could be better after Christmas eve than that sweet buttery smell off of the oven?
Boy, I was thankful that I trusted that inner voice in me. Turns out that these beauties here are easier to make than I think it is and waaaay better than the tubed store-bought ones.
Are crescent rolls and croissants the same thing?
Believe it or not, there are still some who interchangeably use crescent and croissants. Guess it’s because these two have the same shape, but it all ends there. Croissant rolls are flakier, richer and tastier than crescent rolls. It has lots of butter and folded into several times to create that layered, thin, flaky texture.
On the other hand, crescent rolls are pretty much easier to make than croissants with less baking time, of course. It’s buttery and slightly crisp on the outside yet fluffy and soft on the inside. And oh, they are mostly serve as dinner rolls, whereas, croissants are more like of a breakfast staple.
How to roll crescent rolls?
These crescent rolls are easy to make than you think it is. Don’t be fooled by that fancy roll shape ’cause I’m about to show you how even a newbie can make these rolls and roll the dough like a crescent roll pro!
After the dough has risen (about 1 1/2-2 hours), you punch it down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Then divide the dough in half (you may freeze it this time). You’ll have to roll the dough into a 12-inch round and flattened dough, from there you divide it into four and cut them up into wedges.
Lastly, roll up the wedges starting from the wide end up to the tip until you form it into crescent shapes. That’s just about it. Easy, right?
Stuffed Crescent Rolls
One of the best thing about these crescent rolls is that you can stuff it with whatever rocks your boat. You can go for:
- bacon, scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese
- ham and cheese
- apple butter and cinnamon
- chicken and cheese
- pepperoni and cheese
- Nutella and banana
- strawberry and cream cheese
Name it! It can be perfectly stuffed with almost anything. Make sure that the oven is already preheated and the fillings are ready to go before cutting the dough into wedges. You simply have to spread the filling across the wide bottom part of the triangle, then roll it up until the narrow tip wraps the roll all around.
For an extra flavor, you can choose either to brush the unbaked rolls with melted butter plus dried herbs, shredded cheese, cinnamon sugar or coarse sugar. I guarantee you that these crescent rolls will be long gone before it even reaches back to you when passed around during the holiday meal. Soft, buttery, sweet with a little crisp on the outside – what’s not to love?
Enjoy!
How to Make Crescent Rolls
Start by combining water and yeast in the stand mixer bowl, using a dough hook. Use a large bowl , if making this by hand. Let it sit until dissolve for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe medium bowl, combine milk, with the butter pieces, sugar, salt and microwave for about a minute. Stir until everything is melted.
Pour butter mixture into the large bowl or stand mixer. Thoroughly mix – mixture should be lukewarm. If not, let it sit for a few minutes.
Whisk in eggs. Gradually add about 3 3/4 cups of flour and continue mixing dough on low speed, adding just enough flour to form soft dough. If mixing by hand remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 6-8 minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled. Punch the dough down.
Working on a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half.
Then roll out l into 12-inch rounds; cut into 12-16 wedges.
Roll up wedges, starting from the wide end, to form a crescent shape. Spray baking sheet pan with oil or butter , then place crescent rolls on oiled pan about ½ – 1” apart. Cover lightly with kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 minutes or until dough is puffy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush tops with butter. Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Serve warm with remaining butter, if desired.
Watch How To Make It
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Homemade Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- ½ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup butter , room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
For the Topping
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) unsalted butter , melted
Instructions
- Start by combining water and yeast in the stand mixer bowl, using a dough hook. Use a large bowl , if making this by hand . Let it sit until dissolve for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a microwave safe medium bowl, combine milk, with the butter pieces,sugar, salt and microwave for about a minute. Stir until everything is melted.
- Pour butter mixture into the large bowl or stand mixer. Thoroughly mix – mixture should be lukewarm. If not, let it sit for a few minutes. Whisk in eggs.
- Gradually add about 3 3/4 cups of flour and continue mixing dough on low speed adding just enough flour to form soft dough.
- If mixing by hand remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface . Knead for about 6-8 minutes.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled..Punch the dough down.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half. Then roll out l into 12-inch rounds; cut into 16 wedges. Roll up wedges, starting from the wide end, to form a crescent shape.
- Spray baking sheet pan with oil or butter , then place crescent rolls on oiled pan about ½ – 1” apart. Cover lightly with kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 minutes or until dough is puffy.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush tops with butter. Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.
- Serve warm with remaining butter, if desired.
Tips & Notes:
- To make ahead, you can prepare the dough as directed until in step number 6. Just place them in a lightly oiled ziploc bag and put it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then resume with step number 6.
- Or you can freeze the crescent-rolled dough in a single layer in a baking sheet overnight with a plastic wrap.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used
Nutrition Information:
Carolyn says
Can I use self rising flour instead of plain or bread flour
Imma says
Since this is a yeast bread, self-rising flour wouldn’t work the same. Of course, you could try it but the texture may be different. Please let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it.
Cari Aldrich says
Did the dough in bread machine. Super easy. Thanks
imma africanbites says
So glad to hear that, Cari. Thank you for stopping by.
Onyi says
Hi Imma. I made this the first time on a beautiful Saturday morning that I was off work. It tasted so nice and we all loved it.
Second time I seasoned the melted butter and put some mashed mackerel in the roll. It was beautiful as well.
ImmaculateBites says
Oh that was beautiful!!! Soo glad it went really well for you Onyi!!
Amra Shafeek says
This seems a great recipe…cant wait to try it…i want to make it the next day, so do i have to repeat step 6 twice?
ImmaculateBites says
No . You do step 6 only once. Roll dough in to rolls and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Felisa Waste says
This was an awesome recipe. Easy to follow and great results. Thank you 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Thanks so much.
Emily Escoto says
Can the milk be substituted with almond milk instead?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it sure can.
Lee says
Turned out yummy!! Definitely will make again!!
ImmaculateBites says
YAY! Thanks