Homemade Crescent Rolls

These soft and buttery homemade crescent rolls are the perfect addition to any holiday dinner, Sunday supper, or special occasion. With simple ingredients and step-by-step directions, you’ll love how easy it is to bake golden, fluffy crescent rolls from scratch.

Homemade Crescent Rolls Recipe

I love making bread of any kind. I love the process, the smell when it’s done, and how happy it makes my husband and boys when I pull it out of the oven. I made homemade bread and rolls frequently but every now and then I switch things up and make these homemade crescent rolls. Although they take a little bit more time, they are absolutely worth it.

Unlike store-bought versions, these rolls are made completely from scratch with simple pantry ingredients. They have a fluffy, rich consistency with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s a perfect addition to any dinner. My little cowboys can’t get enough of them and usually eat the entire batch in one setting.

The Cowboys’ Rating: 10/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients Are in Homemade Crescent Rolls?

• All-Purpose Flour or Bread Flour – For years I used all-purpose flour, and this recipe turned out beautifully. Recently, I have been experimenting with bread flour, and I haven’t really noticed any difference. You can use either for this recipe.
• Yeast – The yeast that I use for this homemade bread recipe is active dry yeast.
• Warm Water – I don’t ever check the temperature of the water (because who has time for that), but just make sure it’s lukewarm water so that it activates the yeast.
• Egg – The egg helps bind the dough together and makes the rolls soft and fluffy.
• White Sugar – Sugar helps the texture and flavor of the rolls. Additionally, it also helps the rolls rise so it has a fluffier consistency.
• Honey – Honey is a natural sweetener but also helps the rolls brown faster in the oven.
• Butter Flavored Shortening or Salted Butter – 9/10 I will use butter flavored shortening. The major difference between shortening and butter in bread is the textures they create. Butter creates bread has a denser texture whereas shortening has a more tender and crumbly texture. Either will work in this recipe.
• Salt – Salt is very important for rolls. It has a few roles in making homemade rolls turn out. First, it helps to control the rate of yeast fermentation which is very important. Additionally, it strengthens the gluten in the rolls. And finally, it helps with taste! If you have every tried rolls that the salt has been left out of, it is not good!
• Nonfat Dry Milk – I have always used nonfat dry milk instead of regular milk in bread recipes. I swear by it. I think that it gives the bread a better, fluffier consistency.

Tools You’ll Need

• I always use my KitchenAid to make bread, but you can use a Large Mixing Bowl with a Danish Dough Hook
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Spatula
• Bread Scraper
• 2 18 x 13″ Large Baking Sheet Pan
• Flour Sack Dish Towels to cover dough

How to Make Homemade Crescent Rolls

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine warm water, yeast and sugar together. Gently combine then set aside and let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
3. In a separate large bowl or stand mixer, add dry ingredients.
4. Add water and yeast mixture along with egg, softened butter and honey to the dry ingredients.
5. Begin mixing ingredients together to form a soft dough. Continue kneading or mixing for another 2-3 minutes. When done, the dough should be slightly sticky to the touch.
6. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise until double in size (about an hour).
7. Once dough has risen, generously flour a surface on the counter and scape the dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface.
8. Knead a few times, then set aside.
9. Generously spray two large baking sheet pans with cooking spray and set aside.
10. Cut the dough into two equal halves.
11. Roll out each half into a large circle.
12. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 equal triangle shaped pieces. (Cut the dough into two equal halves and then again to form four equal slices. Next cut each fourth in half. This will make 8 equal triangle shaped pieces.)
13. Begin rolling the crescent rolls. Begin at the wide end and gently roll the dough toward the point, keeping it even as you go.
14. Once the crescent roll is formed, transfer to the baking sheet pan.
15. Repeat this process until all crescent rolls have been made making sure to leave room on the baking sheet for the rolls to expand while baking.
16. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crescent rolls are golden brown.
17. Remove from heat and let cool.
18. Serve and enjoy!

Storage and Freezing

I store my crescent rolls in a gallon Ziploc bag on the counter. They seriously never last more than a day, so I don’t usually store them in the fridge. However, if your family doesn’t demolish these babies in a matter of hours, you can store them in the fridge, and they will last up to 7 days.

These crescent rolls can also be frozen. Place them in a large Ziploc bag and press out as much of the air as possible. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To thaw out the crescent rolls, I just take them of the freezer and let thaw on the counter still in the bag. As they come to room temperature, they will absorb the moisture in the bag and be perfectly moist and delicious.