These soft and buttery crescent rolls using the bread machine are so quick and easy. Free your hands up this holiday season by using your bread machines dough setting, you’ll have these soft and buttery crescent rolls on the table in no time!
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Homemade dinner rolls are one of my favorite things – especially when there is a special occasion like Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving.
Whether it is homemade dinner rolls or soft and buttery homemade crescent rolls, one thing is for sure, there will be dinner rolls on the table during the holiday season around here.
Matter of fact, my bread machine is one of my most used kitchen tools during the holiday season. It allows me to prep and make many other holiday dishes. Being able to dump my ingredients in and walk away, only having to shape my dough into the bread I am baking simplifies the bread making process immensely, especially when you are a busy homemaking momma of three.
The bread machine is like having an extra set of hands, and hey, any help I can get during the holidays, I’ll take!
How to make soft and buttery crescent rolls using the bread machine
The crescent dough is mixed, kneaded, and rised all in the bread maker.
You just place ingredients in bread pan, set it to its dough setting, and forget about it. Then, when the beep sound goes off, you pull out the dough, shape buns, let them rise, and bake!
Yes, it’s really that simple.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/3 cup of butter, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 3/4 cups of flour (bread flour or all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- Optional: 1 egg + 1 tsp water for an egg wash. This gives your crescent rolls that beautiful golden brown color!
- Melted butter-to brush your crescent rolls after they bake.
Start by adding all the liquid ingredients first. Place the water, milk, softened or melted butter, egg, and sugar into the bread machine pan.
Then, add all the dry ingredients right on top. (flour, salt, yeast)
Place the bread pan back inside your bread maker and select DOUGH setting. Press Start.
Note: Most bread machines take about 60-90 minutes to complete the setting.
How to shape crescent rolls
Once the dough cycle is complete, it is time to shape your buttery dinner rolls.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface then,
1. Divide dough into two halves, Roll each half into a 12 inch circle.
2. Using a pizza cutter, cut each circle into 12 equal triangles.
3. Roll into crescents. Tightly roll each triangle into a crescent shape. To do this, start at the wide end of each wedge, and roll the dough towards the pointed end, and this will form a crescent. Layer on a greased baking sheet.
4. Cover and allow the crescents to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Baking your bread machine crescent rolls
Next, we will bake our crescent rolls! This is when your home will fill with the sweet aroma of homemade dinner rolls. Ah, it’s truly the best.
Preheat oven to 350. Brush crescents with an egg wash (1 TBSP WATER, 1 EGG, lightly whisked)
Cook crescent rolls for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Brush with butter, serve warm.
That’s it! Don’t worry-I won’t tell your guest that the bread machine did all the hard work.
How to store crescent rolls
Store crescent rolls in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
These dinner rolls are best the day they are baked. If you want to make them ahead for a special gathering, you could bake them and store in an airtight container overnight.
Reheat them for 2 – 3 minutes at 350°F to restore texture and warm them through.
Can you freeze bread machine crescent rolls?
Yes! Impress your guest with your hosting skills by serving homemade dinner rolls, straight out the freezer. I won’t tell.
To freeze your rolls, follow the steps above until you have formed your crescent shape. Once your rolls are formed, place them on a baking sheet and into the freezer for 24 hrs. After frozen, transfer them to a plastic bag.
When you are ready for your rolls, let them thaw and rise on the counter for 4-5 hrs then bake as normal.
More ways to use crescent dough
Once you know how to make homemade crescent dough, you could turn it into so many different recipes beyond just homemade dinner rolls!
Use your thanksgiving leftovers and stuff them into these yummy thanksgiving in a blanket crescent rolls. Goodness, these look YUM! Or roll them into a sweet apple crescent rolls or maybe even some pizza roll ups.
Can I make these crescent rolls without a bread machine?
To make this recipe without a bread machine, just knead it for about 10 minutes by hand, or in a kitchen aid with a dough hook for about 5 minutes, you will need to do 2 rises if you do it this way.
- First rise after mixing the dough. (about an hour)
- Final rise after shaping the bread dough into rolls. (45 minutes to 1 hour)
What is the difference between crescent rolls and croissants?
Just so you don’t get confused!
Crescent rolls are a bread and croissants are a pastry.
What that means is: Crescent rolls use yeast and rises to make them lighter. Croissants, on the other hand, use a technique of using layers of butter and dough to produce a light flaky pastry.
Do I need to use bread machine yeast in my machine? What about bread flour?
Bread machine yeast and rapid rise yeast are just types of instant yeast. This means that bread machine yeast, rapid rise yeast and instant yeast can all be used interchangeably. They are essentially the same.
If you don’t have bread flour on hand, you can substitute with all-purpose flour in a pinch. The difference is, the Bread machine flour will result in a bit fluffier texture.
More Bread Machine recipes:
- Homemade Pizza Dough in the Bread Machine
- Homemade soft pretzel bites using a bread machine
- Easy small batch Hamburger buns using a Bread Machine!
- How to make Flour Tortillas with a Bread Machine
- 6 simple bread machine must haves for beginners
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Soft and buttery crescent rolls using the bread machine
Ingredients
- 1/2 c warm water
- 1/2 c warm milk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 c butter, soft or melted
- 1/3 c sugar
- 3 3/4 c flour, bread flour or all purpose
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
optional
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp melted butter, to brush rolls
Instructions
- Start by adding all the liquid ingredients first. Place the water, milk, softened or melted butter, egg, and sugar into the bread machine pan.
- Then, add all the dry ingredients right on top. (flour, salt, yeast)
- Place the bread pan back inside your bread maker and select DOUGH setting. Press Start.
- Once the dough cycle is complete, it is time to shape your buttery dinner rolls.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface then, Divide dough into two halves, Roll each half into a 12 inch circle.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut each circle into 12 equal triangles.
- Roll into crescents. Tightly roll each triangle into a crescent shape. To do this, start at the wide end of each wedge, and roll the dough towards the pointed end, and this will form a crescent. Layer on a greased baking sheet.
- Cover and allow the crescents to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350. Brush crescents with an egg wash (1 TBSP WATER, 1 EGG, lightly whisked-this gives your rolls that golden color)
- Cook crescent rolls for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Brush with butter, serve warm.