This Best Easy Crescent Rolls Recipe makes flaky and tender crescent rolls every time! Homemade is always better, and there is no exception with these rolls. Make them for your next Sunday night dinner or family gathering!
When it comes to planning a great are meal, carbs are king! Try these other favorites like Easy Buttermilk Biscuits, Super Moist Cornbread, 1 Hour Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, and Empty Tomb Cinnamon Rolls.
Why This Recipe Works
Soft & Buttery: This best easy crescent rolls recipe is the only roll recipe you will ever need. They are soft and buttery, just the way they should be! Serve them with some extra butter along with a pasta dish, or simply have these with some butter and jam for breakfast!
Easy to Make: Anytime you are baking something with yeast, it is going to take a little bit more time due to the rise time. But these are actually super easy to make and most of the time that goes into them is just allowing the dough to puff up!
Ingredients
My crescent rolls recipe uses simple, pantry staple ingredients for the best homemade rolls ever! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Milk: Milk is the liquid in this recipe and adds moisture and more of a creamy flavor than water would create. You will warm up your milk slightly so that the yeast and sugar can dissolve!
- Sugar: A bit of sugar adds just a slight sweetness to the crescent rolls and also feeds the yeast so these can puff up slightly.
- Yeast: Yeast is needed to help the dough rise and it also adds that classic bread flavor to these crescent rolls.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter, but you can use salted and add a tiny bit less salt to the flour.
- Egg: One egg
- Flour: All purpose flour works well here. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt!
- Half & Half: I like to brush the tops of these with some half and half to get a nice golden color!
Here’s How to Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Warm the Milk: Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it is warm when you test it with your finger, but not quite as warm as bath water. Remove the pan from the heat. (not pictured)
- Whisk in Sugar, Yeast & Butter: Whisk in the sugar and yeast until they have both dissolved. Stir in the butter until the residual heat of the milk and the pan has melted it; if you’re still left with a few small pieces, don’t worry about it. Then, whisk in the egg. (photos 1-3)
- Add Flour to Stand Mixer Bowl: In the bottom of your stand mixer bowl, combine the flour and salt before making a well in the middle. Pour in the milk mixture and bring everything together into a rough dough with a fork. (photos 4-5)
- Knead: Fit the dough hook attachment and knead for 5 minutes until you have a smooth, sticky dough. (not pictured)
- Proof: Cover the bowl with food wrap or a shower cap and leave in a warm place for about an hour until the mixture has doubled in size. (photos 6-7)
- Roll the Dough Out: Scrape the dough out onto a well floured surface and dust the top with a bit more flour. Press the dough out into a large circle, about the size of a single person pizza. (photo 8)
- Cut the Dough: Cut the dough circle into wedges with a sharp, floured knife by first dividing it into quarters and then dividing each quarter into three. (photo 9)
- Roll Them Up: Roll each wedge of dough, starting at the widest end into a crescent roll shape before transferring them a few inches apart onto two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and leave to puff up for 30 minutes. (photo 10)
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 400. Brush the top of each roll with half and half before baking for 12 minutes until they are puffed and golden. Transfer to a cooling wrack or enjoy warm. (photos 11-12)
Expert Tips
- Rise time may vary depending on the temperature of your house! If your house is particularly cold on the day that you make these, you might want to let the dough proof a little longer! The warmer the temperature, the faster the dough will rise.
- This best easy crescent rolls recipe can be altered to add different toppings like cinnamon sugar or garlic and cheese!
- Don’t over heat the milk! The yeast thrives best in warm but not overly hot liquid. If you get it too hot, let it cool a little bit before adding the yeast in.
Frequently Asked Questions
A crescent roll is soft and slightly flaky where as a croissant has many flaky and buttery layers. Croissants are generally more difficult to make, since they are made by a process rolling butter into a dough and folding that dough many times to create hundreds of layers. Crescent rolls are the easier version and still result in delicious bread!
Definitely! After baking, wrap them well in plastic wrap and some foil over top to prevent freezer burn. You can freeze them for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat them, pop them in a low oven (about 325) until heated through!
More Bread Recipes to Try
- Easy Focaccia Bread
- Grilled Garlic Bread
- Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Best Cornbread Muffins
- Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
Best Easy Crescent Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp yeast
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- half and half - for brushing
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until it is warm when you test it with your finger, but not quite as warm as bath water. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Whisk in the sugar and yeast until they have both dissolved. Stir in the butter until the residual heat from the pan has melted it; if you're left with a few small pieces, don't worry about it. Whisk in the egg.
- In the bottom of your stand mixer bowl, combine the flour and salt before making a well in the middle. Pour in the milk mixture and bring everything together into a rough dough with a fork.
- Fit the dough hook and knead for 5 minutes until you have a smooth sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl with food wrap or a shower cap and leave in a warm place for about an hour until the mixture has doubled in size.
- Scrape the dough out onto a well floured surface and dust the top with a bit more flour. Press the dough out into a large circle, about the size of a single person pizza.
- Cut the dough circle into wedges with a sharp, floured knife by first dividing it into quarters, then dividing each quarter into three.
- Roll each wedge of dough, starting with the widest ent into a crescent roll shape before transferring them a few inches apart onto two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and leave to puff up for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400. Brush the top of each roll with half and half before baking for 12 minutes until they are puffed and golden. Transfer to a cooling rack or enjoy warm.
Notes
- As this is quite a sticky dough I do not recommend making these without a stand mixer unless you are an experienced bread maker. You’ll need to knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes and try to add as little flour as possible as too much flour will make the rolls heavier and they’ll loose some of their light texture.
- These rolls are best eaten within hours of baking, but if you keep them in a sealed container leftovers will be just soft enough to enjoy spread with jam for breakfast the next morning.
Oh bummer, no salad today. These look like they’d be really good with a salad though. 🙂
I know! I was thiiiiis close to posting a salad – but it was that kind of monday and I needed carbs if you know what I mean. 😉
I totally agree! I think bread can absolutely make a meal! Some of my most memorable restaurant experiences have been when the bread has been out of the ordinary. These…look phenomenal and would be the perfect addition to any home-cooked meal.
It’s so true, when the bread is exceptional the whole tone of the meal is set!
OMG Tiffany! Now you’ve done it. I have GOT to make these. The photographs are mouthwatering. I dare anyone to resist these!! Can’t wait to try!
I’m a certified carboholic too. Making these real soon. I have all the ingredients on hand.
Wow, these look insanely good! I’m pretty sure it would take alllll of my willpower not to eat all of these. Love!