Buttery Crescent Rolls -- The Rolls That Belong on That Table

I threw Destiny a proper celebration dinner Sunday. She came with Travis and I invited the people who matter most: CJ and Shanice drove down, Sister Odalys and her husband came, Kezia and her grandmother came, and Destiny's two closest friends from her graduate program who I have met a handful of times and like very much. Ten people at the table, which is becoming my operating capacity.

I made the meal that Destiny asked for when I said she could choose anything: smothered chicken and rice, the specific version I made for her when she did well in school as a girl, collard greens, yeast rolls, and the stack cake I had learned in Memphis. The stack cake was new to everyone — Rosemary's version, seven layers with the apple butter between them, served cold so the layers have time to soften into each other. Nobody had seen it before. Everybody wanted the story. I told the story of driving to Memphis and sitting in Rosemary's kitchen and recovering the recipe from a piece of Piggly Wiggly receipt paper. Destiny said, that is the most on-brand story you have ever told. I said thank you. I think.

After dinner Travis stood up and made a small toast. He said Destiny had told him once that her mother's kitchen was the first place she understood what it felt like to be held by something larger than herself, and that she had spent her professional life trying to give other people a version of that feeling, and he thought that was the most remarkable inheritance he had ever heard of. Destiny looked at me. I looked at her. There was nothing to say that the looking didn't already contain. I raised my glass.

Destiny asked for yeast rolls, and yeast rolls she got — these buttery crescent rolls are as close to that request as I know how to get, and if you have ever pulled a pan of them out of the oven while ten people are sitting at your table waiting, you understand why they belong at a dinner like this one. There is something about bread made by hand that says, without any words at all, that the people eating it were worth the time it took. That is exactly what I wanted to say on Sunday.

Buttery Crescent Rolls

Prep Time: 25 minutes + 2 hours rising | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes | Servings: 16 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
• 1 cup whole milk, warmed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus 3 tbsp melted for brushing
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• Flaky sea salt for finishing (optional)

Instructions

1. Activate the yeast. Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, start over with fresh yeast.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs and softened butter and stir to combine. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix well.
3. Add the flour. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms. Knead by hand for 8 minutes, or with a dough hook on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. First rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
5. Shape the rolls. Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll each half into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Brush generously with melted butter. Cut each circle into 8 wedges, like a pizza. Starting at the wide end, roll each wedge tightly toward the point. Place point-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, curving the ends slightly to form a crescent.
6. Second rise. Cover loosely and let rise another 30 to 45 minutes, until noticeably puffed.
7. Bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls for 13 to 15 minutes, until deep golden brown on top. Brush immediately with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with flaky salt if using. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 180mg