Crescent Dinner Rolls

 My family loves these bake-off winning rolls!  I found the recipe here.

Prep time:  3 hours

Cook time:  20 minutesServings: 24 crescent rolls

Ingredients

  

• 1 ½ cups warm water around 95°F
• ½ cup warm milk around 95°F
• 1 Tablespoon instant yeast*
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ cup boxed potato flakes
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• ½ cup butter flavored shortening
• ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
• 6 cups bread flour divided

For rolling up:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted

Instructions

 

Prepare the crescent roll dough

• To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ingredients for the cinnamon roll dough: the water, milk, instant yeast, sugar, salt, dry potato flakes, eggs, shortening, butter, and half the flour. Mix with the dough hook attachment, on low speed until combined and smooth, about 1 minute.
• While on low speed, gradually add the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. You may or may not need the entire amount of flour. You can stop the mixer and check the dough by lightly tapping on it with your fingertip - it should feel soft, slightly tacky, but not wet. *When in doubt, it’s always best to go lighter on the flour. You can always add more flour later, but you can’t take flour away. Too much flour in your dough will give you dry, dense rolls.
• Knead the dough on low speed for 10-15 minutes, or until it's smooth and cohesive. It should be mostly cleaning the sides of the bowl. If you take a piece of dough, you should be able to stretch it a few inches apart without it tearing.

Bulk Fermentation

• Spray a large bowl with nonstick baking spray. Remove the dough from the mixer and place it the bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.

Rolling out crescent rolls

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Melt the 1/4 cup of butter and set aside.
• Flour your work surface and divide the dough into two equal pieces. If you are weighing it, each piece should weigh about 28 ounces/790 grams. Round each piece into a ball shape by pulling the sides under and pinching the dough together underneath. This will make it easier to roll out into a circle.
• Flour your work surface. Working with one ball of dough, use a rolling pin to roll it to a 16-inch circle, about ¼ inch thick. Brush the top with 2 Tablespoons of the melted butter.
• With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 equal wedges, just as you would a pizza. Stretch one of the wedges to lengthen a bit. Starting with the wider end, roll it up, pulling slightly to tighten it up as go. Tuck the end under and place the crescent roll on the prepared baking sheet with the tip side underneath. Roll up the remaining rolls.

Final Proof

• Allow the crescent rolls to rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.

Bake

• Bake on the middle rack, in preheated 350°F oven for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Or serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 6 days.

Notes

1. This recipe has been updated from its original version. The original version called for 2 cups of warm water and 1/4 cup of powdered milk. I updated the recipe because I found that using regular milk was more available for bakers, and it yields the same results.
2. *You can replace the instant yeast with active dry yeast – be sure to proof it first. Proof it by adding the active dry yeast to the water with 1 Tablespoon of the sugar. Let it sit for up to 15 minutes to foam up. If it doesn’t foam, replace yeast with a fresh package.
3. Freeze unbaked crescent rolls: You can freeze the rolls to bake later. After rolling up and placing the them on parchment lined cookie sheet, put the entire pan in the freezer and allow the rolls to freeze for 24 hours. Once frozen, remove the sheet pan and you can pop them off, place them in a ziplock bag, and store in the freezer for later use. When baking frozen rolls, remove them from the freezer bag and place on a baking sheet. Allow them to rise at room temperature and bake as usual. This could take 3-5 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. 
4. Overnight rolls: Make overnight crescent rolls by rolling them out, place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight. They tend to rise quickly, even in the refrigerator, so I suggest only refrigerating for 8 hours. 
5. Make the dough the night before: You can make the dough the night before and refrigerate - roll them up in the morning and let rise to double in size, about 45 minutes before baking.
6. This is the same dough for my Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. You can double this recipe and make both dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls with the same dough.
7. Substitutions: You can swap out butter for the butter flavored shortening. You can also swap out 1/3 cup cooked potato for every 1/2 cup of the potato flakes. You can use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour - you may need a little bit extra to make it less sticky.

Stuffing

While my family is completely content with Stove Top stuffing, this recipe truly is worth the effort.  And really, it's not too much effort.  The hardest part is getting the bread cubes dried in advance of when you need them...and that just requires thinking ahead and some room to leave them out.  If you get in a pinch, though, I'm sure you could just bake them in a warm oven...or just buy some plain croutons at the store.  I got the recipe here.

Ingredients

1 

loaf cornbread (see my skillet cornbread recipe)

1 

loaf Italian bread, such as ciabatta

1 

loaf French bread

1 

whole large onion or 2 medium onions, diced

5 

stalks celery, diced

1/2 

bunch parsley, chopped

1/2 c. 

(1 stick) butter

6 c. 

low-sodium chicken broth, more if needed for moisture

1/2 tsp. 

dried basil

1/2 tsp. 

ground thyme

1 tbsp. 

fresh rosemary, finely minced

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cut all the bread into 1-inch cubes and lay them out on sheet pans. Cover with a dish towel and let them dry out for 24-48 hours until they're dry and crisp.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onions and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir.
3. Put all the bread cubes in a large bowl and slowly ladle in the broth mixture, tossing as you go until the dressing has the moisture level you want. Taste and add more seasonings as needed.
4. Pour the dressing into a large casserole pan and/or the turkey cavity. Bake the casserole for 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees until golden and crisp on top. Serve piping hot with a turkey and gravy!

Easy Fluffy Blender Rolls

 The family really loved these rolls.  I doubled the batch and made 2 trays of crescent rolls, and 2 trays of cinnamon rolls.  Easiest cinnamon rolls ever!  I used 4 cups of whole wheat flour in the double recipe, and the rolls were still very light and fluffy.  I got the recipe here.

YIELD: 24 ROLLS

 

PREP TIME: 1 HOUR

 

COOK TIME: 17 MINUTES

 

ADDITIONAL TIME: 3 HOURS

 

TOTAL TIME: 4 HOURS 17 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  2 1/2 cups hot water (not boiling; just hottest water from tap)
•  1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter (I use salted)
•  1/3 cup granulated sugar
•  2 teaspoons salt
•  2 large eggs
•  7 cups (35 ounces) all-purpose flour (see note)
•  1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast (see note for active dry yeast)
•  6 tablespoons butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To a blender, add the hot water, butter (I just throw the whole stick in there), sugar, and salt. Blend for 10-15 seconds until well-combined. Add the eggs and blend until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast.
3. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour and stir with a spoon (or use your hands) until well-combined and no dry streaks remain. The dough will be sticky and bumpy.
4. Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy and doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Divide the dough in half.
6. For folded square rolls, on a lightly floured counter, roll half of the dough into a thick rectangle, about 9X14-inches. Cut in half lengthwise and then cut each half into six rectangle pieces. Dip the bottom of each piece in butter and swipe the buttered end back and forth on a half sheet pan and then fold in half (see pictures in post for a visual). Repeat with remaining dough, spacing the rolls about 1/4-inch apart.
7. For crescent rolls, on a lightly floured counter, roll half of the dough into a thick circle, about 14-inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter. With a pizza cutter, cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece up starting with the wide end and place on a parchment-lined half sheet pan. Repeat with remaining dough.
8. Cover the rolls and let rise until puffy, about 1 1/2 hours.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden. If desired, brush tops with melted butter while still warm.

NOTES

Yeast: I've only ever made this recipe with instant yeast (which doesn't need to be dissolved and proofed in liquid before using). If you want to use active dry yeast, use the same amount, but add it to the blender at the very end after adding the eggs and blend for just a second or two.

Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour; to measure the flour, fluff the flour very well, scoop in the cup and then level off with a knife. Don't pack the flour into the measuring cup or these rolls will be overfloured and dry. I haven't tried these rolls with 100% whole wheat flour, but I have subbed in two cups of whole wheat flour for two cups of white flour and it works great. I recommend using white whole wheat flour for a lighter, less dense roll.

Freezing: I haven't frozen the dough or the shaped rolls, but I have frozen the baked and cooled rolls, and they freeze great. Thaw at room temperature. They tend to dry out if warmed up too much, but they can be lightly warmed in a 200 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Doubling: this recipe doubles well. I use 2 1/2 tablespoons yeast for a double batch; everything else I double straight across.

Janae's Twin Mountain Muffins

This is a really versatile biscuit-like muffin recipe.  Janae brought them to me with jam swirled in.  We've added garlic.  They've been great every way we've tried them.

Makes 1 dozen
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
2 cups four, stirred and measured

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg; blend.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk.  Bake in buttered muffin pans 25 minutes.

Garlic Breadsticks

This recipe comes in two parts.

First, the breadsticks - a versatile and easy dough recipe found here:

http://themamasgirls.com/mamas-best-pizza-dough/

Second, the "glaze", found here:

http://themamasgirls.com/garlic-dill-glazed-breadsticks/

(All photos and the majority of the instructions are copied directly from the above-referenced links.)

These breadsticks were easy to put together, though admittedly they do take at least an hour from start to finish.  They were worth the relatively minimal effort - the breadsticks were delicious!  (I'm not a fan of dill, so I left out the dill from the glaze recipe.  If you like dill, go to the link to find the dill included in the recipe.)

Dough:

3 c. very warm water

2 Tbs. yeast

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

6 – 7 c. flour

1. Measure the “warm water” into your mixer.

2. Add the yeast to the water and let it dissolve for a couple of minutes.

It should form a froth on the surface.

3. Next, add the sugar, salt  and about 2 – 3 cups of  the flour and whisk together.

If you’re using a mixer, put it to no more than about speed 2. At this point your mixture will be smooth and resemble somewhat of a batter more than a dough.

4. Stir in the remaining flour.

Change your whisk out for a large wooden spoon or the kneading attachment on your mixer (I used the kneading attachment on my Bosch from start to finish). Start up your mixer or start up your muscles and mix.  Continue to add flour to the dough “cleans” itself away from the side of the bowl. This is usually somewhere between 6 – 7 cups.

5. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. (about 6 minutes).

You want a soft dough, but not sticky.  If it sticks to your hand and stays there, add a bit more flour in small increments. If it sticks to your hand, but comes off clean, you’re good to go.

6. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

This allows the dough to relax and become malleable again to roll out  for your breadsticks. 

While dough is resting, you can start to make your glaze.

Garlic Glaze

6 Tbs. salted butter, melted

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

Place butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for about 45 seconds or until the butter has almost melted.  Add other ingredients and stir together.  Set aside.

After dough has rested for about 10 minutes, break off or cut off a piece about the size of a baseball.

Spray your rolling surface with non-stick spray. Roll the dough into a long rope about 18 inches long. Begin to pull the left side of the dough toward you, and push the right side away from you.  This will begin twisting the breadstick. Repeat about 3 times so the rope is fairly tightly twisted.

Take the ends of the rope and fold them up together. The dough should naturally twist together in your hands like magic. Grab the bottom, and give it a final twist.

Place the dough twists on a greased baking sheet. Let them rise for 5-10 minutes.

Place your oven rack in the MIDDLE of your oven.  Bake breadsticks at 425° for 12 -14 minutes or until golden on the top.

With a pastry brush, brush the glaze over hot bread immediately after it comes out of the oven. Lightly salt.

This recipe made a full, big cookie sheet's worth of breadsticks.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I got this recipe from my good friend Alona.  It is SO GOOD!

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
6 Tbsp cocoa
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 pkg chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet, but you can't go wrong with milk chocolate chips, either)

Beat the eggs, and then add the rest of the wet ingredients.  Once they are well combined, add the dry ingredients, and then add the chocolate chips.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Stephanie's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Heat oven to 350
Bake 2 8x8 pans for 20-25 minutes

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar

Mix

3 eggs

Mix

1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream

Mix

1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Mix

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans

Pizza Dough (Melissa Godfrey - BBQ Chicken Pizza)

4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. salt

Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast.  Add the wet ingredients and mix well.

Add 1 1/2 cups flour and salt.  Mix well.

Cover, let rise until double.  Roll out.  Let rise again.

Sprinkle with onion salt, bake until crust is dry to the touch.  Add pizza ingredients, and cook until cheese is browned.

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread

Oven:  375 degrees     
Bake for 35 minutes         
Yields 4 regular-sized loaves

13 cups wheat flour
4 cups water
3 Tbsp. gluten flour (dough enhancer)
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. yeast
4 tsp. salt

Optional ingredients:

1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup multi-grain cereal
1/3 cup potato flakes

Combine 6 cups flour and dry yeast; add oats or potato flakes, if desired.  (If adding the multi-grain cereal, let it soak in hot water for a little bit before adding it to the other ingredients.).  Add water, oil, and honey, and mix well.  Cover and let batter sponge (rise) for 15 minutes, which makes lighter bread with less kneading.  Add salt and remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl (the amount of flour needed may vary).  Knead 5-7 minutes by machine, or 10-12 minutes by hand, until dough is smooth and elastic.  Divide dough into equal portions.  Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans.  Cover with light cloth and let rise until almost double (about 30 minutes).  Bake in preheated oven.  Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks. 

Jen's Rolls (Jen Evans)

Oven:  350 degrees
Yield:  1 big tray (I usually make a double batch if there is a sizeable group to feed)

1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar
7/8 cup (7 oz.) milk
1/4 cup butter

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp. salt
2 3/4 cup flour

Combine water and yeast; let yeast grow.

Combine sugar, milk, and butter in microwave-safe bowl; microwave until butter melts (so that mixture is warm).

Combine yeast and milk mixtures.  Add egg.

Pour flour and salt into mixer.  Add liquid mixture, and knead until dough pulls from the sides of the bowl (you may need to add more flour), and the dough is smooth and elastic.  Let the dough rise until double.  Punch down, and roll out in circles, spread with melted butter, and cut into triangles and roll into crescent shapes.  Place on pan, and let rise again.  Bake until just golden on top.