How to Make Easy Crescent Rolls | Buttery and Amazing!

Hey, I’m John Cannell. Today on Preppy Kitchen we’re making buttery crescent rolls, so let’s get started.

Activating the Yeast

First off, we’re going to warm ⅓ cup of water to 110–120 °F, pour that into the bowl of your stand mixer, and mix with one teaspoon of granulated sugar. These yeasts need a happy place to wake up, so I’m gonna toss them in, give them a little mix, and set this aside until they’re nice and foamy. It should be like five minutes.

Preparing the Wet Ingredients

While that warms up, we’re going to measure out ⅔ cup of whole milk and warm it up, too. You’ll also want to make sure you have ½ cup (113 g) of room-temperature butter, so if you didn’t warm it up, pop it into the microwave for five-second increments. Add four teaspoons of sugar, the warmed milk, and the room-temperature butter. I didn’t melt the butter because room-temperature butter gives this very rich, wet dough a little body, helping it hold together at the beginning.

Adding Eggs and Initial Flour

To this mixture we’re also going to add two eggs—room temperature, please. Popping this onto my scale, I’m gonna add 240 g (2 cups) of flour. We’re adding the flour in stages, which is the key to making a silky enriched dough.

Mixing the Dough

Now I’m gonna plop this onto my stand mixer with the paddle attachment—no dough hook today. Pop your paddle attachment on and mix until it’s well combined. While that mixes, I’m measuring out an additional 2 cups (240 g) of flour.

Come take a look at this: the butter worked in right away and we already have a pretty silky dough, but it’s really like pancake batter at this moment—so loose, no structure, not enough flour.

Seasoning and Final Flour Addition

Sprinkling in 1½ teaspoons of kosher salt. (Kosher salt refers to the grain size; if you use fine-grain salt, use a little bit less.) We’ve got one final mix. Pop the dough hook on now and add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time. This will mix for a long time, so add the flour, let it incorporate, then let it mix for 15 minutes. Aren’t you glad you’re not doing it by hand?

Checking Dough Consistency

The dough should form a ball and pull away from the edge; if that doesn’t happen, we’ll add a little more flour. After 15 minutes it’s not pulling away as much as I’d like, so I’m adding the remaining ½ cup of flour. Come take a look: it’s just kind of stuck on the bowl, but that little bit of flour made all the difference—it’s a big dough ball now. Mix a few more minutes until that flour is totally incorporated. Yeah, that looks great; you can see how it’s clearing the sides completely.

First Rise

I added a little oil to a large bowl and popped the dough in to rise. It’s a very sticky dough, but as you know, the rule of thumb is: the stickier the dough, the more delicious the end result. Cover the dough and place it in a cozy spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Shaping the Rolls

Our dough has risen—look at that! It’s amazing; I love seeing it puff up. However, it’s a little too puffed, so we’re gonna tap it down gently—my kids call this a “tap.” I’m dividing it into two big pieces; we’ll make two 12-inch circles of dough.

Rolling and Cutting

Lightly flour the work surface and roll one piece into a 12-inch circle. A pastry mat is handy because it shows exact diameters, but otherwise eyeball it or use a ruler. Once you have the circle, cut it into 12 pieces. I like a pizza cutter, but a knife or bench scraper works, too. Twelve is 4 × 3, so quarters first, then each quarter into thirds—look at that math problem. Baking has so many amazing applications for math and science; there should be ovens in classrooms.

Forming Crescents

Now for the fun part: roll the crescents. Grab the edge of each little piece and roll it up—just like that—it looks perfect and it’s so easy. Plop each crescent onto a baking sheet, giving them space to rise for one final rise.

Final Rise

Loosely cover the tray and let the rolls rise 30 minutes in a warm, cozy place.

Baking

After a half hour, the crescent rolls are ready for the oven: 400 °F for 10–12 minutes, until golden brown.

Finishing Touch

After about 10 minutes they’re golden brown and ready for their final step—brushing with melted butter. Oh yes, added richness at its best. They look glossy and beautiful, like a buttery bread pillow. I hope you get a chance to make this recipe.