Crescent Rolls

These homemade crescent rolls are light, buttery, tender, and flaky. They're perfect for your holiday gatherings or Sunday suppers.

Course Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword bread recipes, bread rolls

Prep Time 4

Cook Time 12

Total Time 4 12

Servings rolls

Calories 151kcal

Author Kathleen

Line 2, 1/2 sheet baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve yeast (2 packages), warm water (3/4 cup), and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and foamy.
Add remaining sugar, salt (1 1/4 teaspoon), eggs (2 large), butter (1/2 cup), and 2 cups of flour. Mix until combined. Mix in remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, to form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape dough from the side of the bowl. Knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Remove dough from stand-up mixer bowl and shape into a ball. Add dough to mixing bowl and turn over to coat with the oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap then lay a clean kitchen towel on top. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, gently punch it down and divide it into two balls. Roll each ball out into a circle that is about 12 inches wide, then cut each circle into twelve wedges. Roll up the wedges starting with the wide end. Curve ends to form crescents. Place rolls point side down on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise for at least 2 hours.
Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter (1/4 cup) when they come out of the oven. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Active Dry Yeast: This recipe calls for active yeast. It differs from Instant yeast in that the Active needs to be dissolved before adding to the recipe. I prefer this because when the yeast dissolves, you will visually see it foam and activate and know it's live and will do its job and leaven the rolls.
Warm Water: I like to use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water. It's simply foolproof. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and if the water is too cool, it won't activate it.
Cold Butter: It's important that the butter is very cold. It's will create flaky layers in your crescents.
All-Purpose Flour: Use the spoon scooping method of measuring. It's very easy and ensures you don't add too much flour ( which could result in dry rolls) to the recipe.
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Refrigerate Dough: The crescent rolls dough can be prepared through step 3. Then lightly oil the interior of a large resealable bag and place it in the fridge overnight. Remove from fridge and continue with step 4.
- Freeze Before Bake: Prepare through step 5, but do not allow to rise. Place baking sheet in the freezer. When the rolls are frozen, you can remove them from the baking sheet and place them in a resealable bag in the freezer. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Allow to room temperature and double in size. Proceed with step 6.