Crescent Rolls Recipe (Big Fat Rolls!)

Langkah-langkah

1. Make the dough: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine 2 tablespoons yeast and 1/4 cup warm water. Touch the water with your wrist. It should feel like lukewarm bath water, about 105 degrees F. (Do not use HOT water, it will kill your yeast!)

2. Proof the yeast. Let the water and yeast sit for about 5 minutes. Check to make sure it's getting bubbly and foamy. See photos! (If not, you've killed your yeast with too hot water. Dump it and start over!)

3. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar to the yeast and water mixture.

4. In a glass measuring cup, add 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter. Warm in the microwave in 30 second intervals until the milk is warm (not hot!) It should be about the same temperature as the water. The butter will not melt completely, but will be soft enough to stir in. If you heat it up too much, no problem, stick it in the fridge or freezer until it is baby-bath warm. Don't add it to the yeast when it's hot.

5. Add the warm milk and butter to the yeast and sugar.

6. Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt.

7. Add 2 large eggs.

8. Add 1 cup of the flour. Use a spoon to add flour to the 1 cup measurement, then level ot off. Stir it all together with a rubber spatula.

9. At this point, if you are using a stand mixer, switch to stirring with the dough hook attachment. (If you are making this by hand, use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir in the flour.)

10. Add the remaining 4 and 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring thoroughly after each cup of flour is added. Use a spoon to add flour to each 1 cup measurement, then level it off. The dough will be very loose and sticky. Add up to another 1/2 cup of flour, but don't go much over 5 and 3/4 cup flour total. This dough is not going to form a ball as it mixes, as you may have seen with other recipes. See photos for guidance.

11. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, until is has come together a little bit. It will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl a bit.

12. Prepare the dough for rising. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula, shape the dough so that it is slightly rounded on top, and spray the heck out of the top with nonstick spray. Spray the edges of the bowl all the way to the top. Spray one side of a sheet of plastic wrap and cover the bowl.

13. Let the dough rise in a warm spot for at least 1 hour, until doubled in size. It might take a few minutes longer if your kitchen is cold. (Stick it on top of the fridge!)*

14. Prepare 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, or spray well with nonstick spray.

15. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto a very well floured work surface. (I love to use my pastry cloth).

16. Use a serrated knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Set aside 2 of the pieces on a floured surface and cover with the plastic wrap from the first rise (or a tea towel).

17. Roll one piece of the divided dough into a circle that is about 12-13 inches.

18. Use a pizza cutter or chef's knife to cut the dough (like a pizza) into 8 equal triangles. (see photos)

19. Shape the dough. Stretch out the skinny end of the triangle of dough with your hands, so it is like a long piece of pizza. Starting from the flat end, roll the dough into a tight crescent. (see photos) This will give you pretty layers when your roll is baked.

20. If the large end of your triangle is overly long (which will make a really wide roll), you can make a snip in the middle of the large end, and fold it in on itself. This will make the roll fatter in the middle instead of long and skinny. (see photos)

21. Shape each roll into a crescent shape, bending the edges in toward itself.

22. Place each roll on the prepared baking sheets, with each roll curved into a crescent shape. The tip of the triangle should be on the bottom. Place the rolls fairly close to each other, with about 1 inch of space or less between them. The rolls will rise higher if they have other rolls to lean on, forcing them to rise up rather than spreading out.

23. Cover with a tea towel (or with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray) and let rise at least 30-45 minutes, until about doubled in size. See note to make your own "proofing box."

24. Continue shaping the rest of the dough.

25. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F when your rolls are about half way done with this second rise.

26. Bake each pan of rolls at 375 for 12-15 minutes.**To quote Kris, They puff up real nice :)

27. Test for doneness: You want the tops of the rolls to reach a nice golden brown color. The bottom of each roll should also be golden. A thermometer put into the center of the roll should read at least 190 degrees. If the rolls are browning on top but not browning on the bottom, cover the rolls loosely with foil for the last few minutes of baking.

28. Top with butter. As soon as they are out of the oven, rub a stick of butter over the top of each roll, or top with a pat of butter and let it melt. Use a pastry brush to spread it around. At this point, it's important to jam one in your mouth as fast as you can.

29. Cool. Remove the rolls from the pan to a cooling rack just a couple minutes after taking them out of the oven. This helps the bottom of the rolls stay golden and crisp, instead of getting soggy-sad from condensation.

30. Reheating: To reheat these rolls, preheat the oven to 170 degrees F (Keep warm setting). Place on a baking sheet and warm for 5-10 minutes.  Or, microwave individual rolls for 10-15 seconds.

31. Storage: Store these rolls covered or in a ziplock, right on the counter. Don't refrigerate them! They will just dry out. If you aren't eating them in the next 12 hours, freeze them. I will freeze rolls I am planning to serve just the next evening for dinner. It's the best way to preserve them and keep them fluffy.

32. Freezing: You can freeze these rolls in ziplock bags, for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the closed ziplock bag on the counter, and then follow reheating instructions. If you know you are panning to freeze them, I would wait to brush the tops with melted butter until just before serving.