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Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

Yield: 24 Crescent Rolls
Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • ⅔ cup (113 g) yellow corn meal
  • 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
  • ½ cup (113 g) 1 stick butter
  • ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 5 ½ - 6 cups (781-852 g) cups flour (see note)

Instructions 

  • Heat the milk to just below a boil so bubbles are just appearing around the edges (this is called scalding milk). Add the cornmeal and cook and stir until thickened, lowering the temperature if needed so the mixture doesn’t boil (see picture below the recipe for an idea of what the consistency should be).
  • Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm. Add the yeast, butter and sugar (if you dissolved active dry yeast with a bit of water and sugar until it foamed, add it now). Mix.
  • Add the salt and eggs. Mix well. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms. Knead for 5-8 minutes.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl covered with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
  • Divide the dough into three portions and roll each into about an 8-10 inch circle. Brush the top lightly with butter. Cut into 8 wedges and roll each wedge up starting from the wide end so it forms a crescent roll shape.
  • Place each roll on a lightly greased or silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1-2 inches apart to allow for rising. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until doubled.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Brush with butter while still warm.

Notes

Yeast: if you need/want to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, change the amount of yeast to 2 tablespoons active dry and dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let the yeast mixture activate and foam (approximately 5 minutes) before adding it to the cornmeal mixture with the butter and 1/3 cup sugar.
Flour Amount: also, as with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I’ve added compared to the recipe. This tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be.
Whole Wheat Flour: lastly, I often use half to 3/4 finely ground white whole wheat flour with good results - and sometimes I get crazy and use 100% whole wheat flour (always finely ground white wheat) but the bread is a bit more dense with 100% whole wheat flour. If using part or all whole wheat flour, add a few minutes to the kneading time to help develop the gluten.