Friday, March 27, 2009

Crescent Rolls


There are many stories to how the crescent or croissant roll got invented, when and why. Some say it was invented in Europe to celebrate the defeat of a Muslin invasion in 732. Others say it was invented in Vienna to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege as a reference to the crescent on the Turkish flag in 1683. However these little delicacies were invented I don't really care, I'm just glad they were!

2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
4-1/2 c. flour

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast and 1/2 tsp. sugar over warm water; stir until dissolved. Add milk, shortening, salt, eggs, 1/4 c. sugar and 1-1/2 c. flour.

Using mixer at low speed, beat until well blended. Increase speed to medium, beat 2 minutes. Add 1 c. flour; beat 2 minutes more.

Stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Place in greased large bowl, turning over dough so that top is greased. Cover with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide it in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each dough half into a 16 inch circle. Spread each circle with 3 tbsp. butter or regular margarine, softened.

Cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge, starting at the wide end. Place rolled wedges, points down, 2 inches apart, on greased baking sheets. Curve the ends to form crescents.

If you want your rolls to be crusty, brush with 3 tbsp. melted butter after shaping and let them rise, uncovered. Otherwise cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake in 375 degree oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. If you want the crust to be soft, brush with 3 tbsp. shortening or softened butter immediately after baking. Remove from baking sheets right away. Serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.

1 comment:

Kiwi da Fruit said...

oooo, homemade crescent rolls! We'll have to try those. Even with 2-3 packages we eat them up in no time flat.
Great to see you're still alive! I was begining to wonder....;D
~kiwi~