Crescent Dinner Rolls

Not much is better than the smell of homemade bread. I've experimented with so many roll recipes, and this one has got to be my favorite.  I make these for Thanksgiving, funeral luncheons, and just about any other occasion that calls for buttery, fresh rolls.



Apparently, our dog Watson loves them too.  I made these the other day, and our whole house was filled with the most heavenly aroma.  Watson went into the kitchen, and started barking.  I followed him in to see what was the matter, and he pointed (with his snout) at the rolls cooling on the counter, and then to me, over and over again.  I finally gave in and let him sample a small bite.  He was one happy dog (I couldn't blame him!). 

Crescent Dinner Roles

Recipe slightly adapted from How Does She? *

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 packets of rapid-rise yeast
• 2 cups of warm water
• about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
• at least 1 cup of butter

Instructions:

1. Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.   Remove from microwave, and stir in 2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt; allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
2. Meanwhile, In a glass measuring cup, dissolve 2 packets of rapid-rise yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it is bubbly.
3. Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture.
4. Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.
5. At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour, as you want the dough to be just a bit sticky. Then smooth the dough out and place in greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise until double in size.
6. When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.
7. Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.
8. Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.
9. Cut the dough circle into quarters using a pizza cutter. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.
10. Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle
11. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 4 rows, with 6 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan (making 48 rolls total).
12. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes (mine took about 17 minutes). Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.
13. While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

*This link has great step-by-step pictures on how to make these rolls.