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5 from 3 votes

Big Fat Crescent Rolls

The best Crescent Rolls of your life! I've been making these rolls for 10 years, and my mother-in-law Kris (who gave me the recipe) has been making them for 30 years. The recipe is tried and true, and the rolls always turn out perfect. They are ultra fluffy and light, plus super easy to make!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Rise Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Servings: 32 rolls
Calories: 171kcal
Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup water warm, not hot
  • 2 cups milk warm, not hot
  • 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 7 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter 1 stick melted, for brushing

Instructions

  • In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine yeast and warm water. Touch the water with your wrist, it should feel like lukewarm bath water, about 105 degrees F. Let sit for 5 minutes and check to make sure it's getting bubbly. If not, you've killed your yeast with too hot water. Dump it and start over! 
  • In a glass measuring cup, add 2 cups milk and a 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. 
  • Add the milk and butter to the bowl.
  • Add the sugar and salt and stir with the paddle attachment, if you are using a stand mixer. 
  • Add the eggs and beat throughly.  
  • Add about 7 cups of  flour, one cup at a time. Mix with the paddle after each addition. (There is no need to switch to the dough hook. If you are using a hand mixer, eventually you will have to stir in the flour by hand.) The dough is very loose and sticky; it will not come together in a ball. Mix it for 2 minutes on medium speed.
  • Remove the paddle, cover the bowl with a greased sheet of plastic wrap, and let rise for one hour in a warm environment. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't overflow the bowl.
  • Prepare 4 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, or spray well with nonstick spray.
  • Use the mixer or paddle to punch down the dough.
  • Scrape the dough onto a very well floured work surface. Like we are talking dump at least a half cup of flour on the counter and spread it around. Flour your hands well and knead the dough a few times until it becomes manageable. You can add a little more flour if necessary, but remember it is supposed to be pretty sticky and loose. Sometimes I add up to a half cup more flour. Use your best judgment! 
  • Use a serrated knife covered in flour to divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Place 3 of the pieces on a floured surface and cover with a tea towel.
  • On a well flour surface, roll the 4th piece of dough into a 12 inch circle. Don't make it too big or your rolls will be too long.
  • Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter generously all over the surface of the circle. 
  • Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough (like a pizza) into 8 equal triangles. (see photos)
  • Starting from the large end of each triangle, roll the triangle, butter side up. I like to use my fingers to pull on the skinny end of the dough, to stretch it out a bit, and then roll it up. It makes it prettier when there are more layers. If the large end of your triangle is too long (which will make a really long 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. (see photos)
  • Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart, with the tip of the triangle on the bottom. Cover with a tea towel and let rise at least another half hour, or longer if your kitchen is cold. 
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Continue with the rest of the dough. Remember to keep track of which pan started rising first, as it will take you several minutes to roll out each quarter of the dough.
  • Bake each pan of rolls at 375 for 12-15 minutes. And to quote Kris, They puff up real nice :) You want the tops of the rolls to reach a nice golden brown color. The bottom of each roll should also be golden.
  • You can bake 2 pans at a time. After 6-7 minutes of baking, rotate the pans (put the top pan on bottom and vice versa). 
  • Brush with more melted butter as soon as they are out of the oven, and jam one in your mouth as fast as you can. If you plan to serve the rolls later, brush with melted butter just before serving. (If you brush them and serve later, the rolls will look a little wrinkled.) 
  • 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. 
  • You can of course freeze these rolls in ziplock bags, for up to 3 weeks. 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.

Notes

This recipe is from my mother-in-law Kris!

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 219IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg