Homemade crescent rolls are rich, buttery and bake up fluffy and light! They are truly special and worth a little extra time. You can choose the Plain Buttery Homemade Crescent Roll version or the Parmesan Garlic Crescent Rolls! Both are scrumptious!
2 1/2cupsall-purpose flourdivided, plus more for rolling
1largeegg + 1 egg yolk
1teaspoonsaltI use coarse kosher
Parmesan Garlic Butter Filling/Topping:
2tablespoonssalted buttersoftened
2tablespoonsgrated parmesan cheese
1teaspoonfresh minced garlic
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonpepper
1teaspoondried parsley flakesor 2 teaspoons fresh
Plain Butter Filling/Topping:
2tablespoonssalted buttersoftened
1/8teaspoon (pinch)salt
Egg Wash:
1largeegg
2teaspoonswater
Instructions
Dough:
Melt 6 tablespoons butter in microwave (about 30 seconds). Add 1/2 cup cold milk to melted butter. Mixture should end up about room temperature.
I use my stand mixer for this recipe, but you could alternatively mix by hand. Add yeast, milk and butter mixture, sugar and 1 cup of flour to the mixing bowl. Stir together and let sit 5 minutes until yeast starts to activate.
Add eggs, remaining flour and salt to mixture. Use dough hook to mix and knead for about 3 minutes on speed 2. The finished dough should be soft, smooth and should clean the bottom of the bowl.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap (no need to grease bowl - should be plenty of butter residue in bowl) allow to rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. (see notes)
Form Rolls:
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.
On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten and fold the dough over on itself 6-8 times (helps create layers) then form into a disc shape and roll into a 12" circle, lightly dusting with flour as needed.
For Parmesan Garlic Rolls: Mix together remaining 2 tablespoons softened butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley. Spread the mixture on the dough circle.
For Plain Butter Rolls: Spread remaining 2 tablespoons softened butter on dough circle, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Use a pizza wheel or long sharp knife to cut the dough circle into 12 wedges (like a pizza.)
Roll each wedge starting at the wider end to form crescent roll shape. Place with tip side down on baking sheet.
Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap (loosely - so they have room to rise) and allow to rise at room temperature. It will take about an 1 - 1 1/2 hours - they should be puffy and larger in size. When gently touched with your finger, the dough springs back. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. part-way through rising time.
Bake:
Make the egg wash. Whisk together the egg and water. Brush over rolls. (This gives them a beautiful golden-brown color.)
Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or until puffed and golden-brown. If you feel they are getting too dark, you can lay a piece of foil loosely over-top the rolls.
Serve while warm. You can also bake several hours in advance and rewarm in a 300 degree F. oven for about 5-7 minutes
Notes
Rising/Proofing Rich Doughs:
This dough has a good amount of egg, sugar, butter and salt in the recipe. All these components can cause the dough to rise a little more slowly and not quite as dramatically as some leaner doughs like pizza dough.I let my dough rise on the kitchen counter - I'd say it's about 70-75 degrees in my kitchen most days - For me it's about 1 1/2 hours for the first rise and an hour for the second rise - but lots of factors can affect your rise times: Room temp, dough temp, yeast, weather etc. You may need to go by how the dough looks. It should definitely have expanded and look puffy. You may not get a full "doubled" in size like lots of recipes state. But you want it to definitely get larger and puffy so it has a nice fluffy texture when baked.I recommend letting this dough rise at room temperature. I don't recommend any quick rise methods (placing in warm oven, proofing setting in oven, placing over warm water) as the generous amount of butter in the dough gets too soft and they don't rise properly.
Make Ahead Instructions:
Refrigerating the Dough:Once dough has doubled in size, place in refrigerator for 4-hours or overnight.Take dough out of refrigerator. It will be stiff as the butter will have solidified. Let it sit out for 10-15 minutes or until it's more pliable. Continue with forming the rolls.Freezing/Refrigerating already formed rolls:After the formed rolls have risen, you can refrigerate or freeze. To freeze: place in freezer for about 2 hours on baking sheet, then transfer to container or freezer bag. Thaw in refrigerator. I like to let them come to room temperature before baking.
Nutrition (approx. data estimated via online nutritional calculator.)