A few weeks back, my Aunt Marilyn sent me a new roll recipe that uses cornmeal and milk as the base. Enter: major skepticism. But I trust my Aunt implicitly, so I gave them a go. Before I offer my verdict, let me explain that I don’t need a new roll recipe. I have several that I love and use all the time. I’d much rather spend my time looking for new double-chocolate-anything recipes than roll recipes.
But let me tell you, these cornmeal crescent rolls have skyrocketed to my new favorites. I feel slightly disloyal to my other faves, but the truth cannot be withheld. They are deliciously unreal.
If making them six times (yes, six!) in the last three weeks, including making 100 of them for a church function, is any indication, then yes, they are my new favorites.
Light, flaky and absolutely soft and tender, these rolls are decadent in their butteryness and while you can’t taste the cornmeal as a main, strong flavor, the subtle texture and lightness it provides is essential to the success of these beauties.
I can’t stop making them. I really can’t. Please, oh please, someone join me in my happy carb-induced nirvana.
One Year Ago: Schoolyard Cupcakes
Two Years Ago: The Best Blueberry Muffins
Three Years Ago: Solid Peanut Butter Cups
Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
Note: 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.
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.
*Makes 2 dozen rolls
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups milk
2/3 cup yellow corn meal
1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
5 ½ – 6 cups flour
DIRECTIONS:
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.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my Aunt Marilyn who got the recipe from her friend, Anne K.
Here is a picture of what the consistency of the cornmeal/milk mixture should look like when it is done cooking and thickening.
{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! Can’t wait to try this!
They look so soft and tender, Melanie! I can see why you have made them six times in recent weeks. Wow…you made 100 of them for a church function? Did you freeze them? How did you make that many at once? As you know, I throw large family parties with my BFF almost monthly, and I am always looking for any “make ahead” tips! Thanks so much!
my!! and here I am trying to eat LESS carbs
but I absolutely love your recipes esp roll recipes and i am trying it today! thanks for sharing.
by the way we don’t get yellow corn meal here in south africa, we only get white one, so i will hv to use the white one. i hope it doesn’t alter the taste or quality much!
These look amazing! I am always trying to find a way to use corn meal. I may have to try this
Blogfoodbetter.blogspot.com
I must admit to sharing your original skepticism, but you’ve yet to steer me wrong. Your recipes are delicious and I can’t wait to try this one.
Can’t wait to try these! They look beautiful!
I love the recipe for Parker House Rolls that I got from your site and have featured it and raved about it on my own blog. And these… these Cornmeal Crescent Rolls also look fabulous. I can’t wait to give them a try too!
new to your blog…and so glad I found you.
These sound amazing…much better than my usual cornbread I make to go with chili. Ooooh, I’m envisioning them filled with jalapeno, creamcheese and cheddar jack. Might have to do some experimenting after the first batch.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Wow, how unique! I was just thinking the other day that if someone could make a yeasted corn bread it would be amazing. Looks like someone did!
Ok fine, I’ll join you.
That sounds delicious!
These sound just amazing – I’ve got all the ingredients on hand, I’m flagging this to try!
looks so delicious and cute! I`d like to have such for my breakfast
Alright you convinced me! Sounds like they are the best
I will have to give them a try!
Ooh just in time for Easter! Thank you!!
I also have a FAVORITE roll recipe: http://wonintheoven.blogspot.com/2011/03/orange-buttermilk-dinner-rolls.html
I am always up for trying something new though. I will make these because you always have great recipes and I love the idea of cornmeal in my rolls.
Hi Kim! Thankfully the church function I had to make them for wasn’t until the evening so I had time in the morning to make the dough, go through all the rising and bake them. If the party had been any earlier in the day, I would have made them the night before and let them rise (shaped on the pan) in the fridge overnight. I’m always trying to figure out make-ahead tips, too!
Yay, I’m so excited to try these. Just the other day I was wanting to make crescent rolls. And another thought I had the other day was that I wished I used my corn meal more, because I’ve had that bag of cornmeal forever, and I want to use it up. Looks Delish.
Those look incredible! I can’t wait to give them a try and join you in carb heaven!
I need to try this! I’m a big fan of cornmeal b/c it has a lot of iron! Thanks for a healthy roll recipe
We had these with dinner tonight-enchilada lasgna- and they were even better than your description- if that’s possible! A new favorite for us. Thanks as always.
I got my new grain grinder in the mail last week and knew I had to try these. I ground my popcorn to get the corn meal and away I went. OOO BABY! These rolls are AWESOME!!! I was surprised at how light and tender they are! This will definitely be repeated many times over. Thanks for another home run!
Oooooo… another roll recipe! Yipee! What’s the time scale on this one? More like Lion House Rolls or shorter like French bread rolls?
Mel, I’m making them RIGHT NOW and have a question. What heat do you scald the milk at, low, medium, or what? Are you supposed to just let it sit on the burner and not stir until there are bubbles? Thank you! By the time you see this, I will probably be done! But I will know for the future.
Holy moly. I made these last night and just ate one for breakfast! So GOOD!!!!! Thanks for the recipe!! I have tried a couple of your roll recipes and have never been dissapointed and yet again am in love with this!!! Thanks!!!
It takes a lot to tempt me to bake anything. But you may have done it. Thank you for sharing.
I made these for dinner tonight and it was a big hit with everyone! They are so soft and buttery. Just perfect! My family and I thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Hi Kelly – it sounds like these worked out for you (based on the comment you left on the potato salad) but in answer to your question, I usually keep my heat at medium to scald the milk and let it sit there without stirring until it starts steaming. Hope that helps!
Alisha – I’d say these are more along the lines of the Lion House rolls.
what the heck just happened? i could not stop thinking about these so today i decided to make some. they just came out of the oven and i devoured 6 of them. thanks so much aunt marilyn! you never dissapoint!
I too have been making rolls for years and have what I think are the best recipes. I just couldn’t help but try these rolls, they were so different than any other recipe I have. They were delicious and easy! I have a suggestion for anyone that wants to make these rolls ahead. Make them, roll them out and put them on a pan. Don’t let them rise on the pan, just pop them in the freezer until they are frozen. After they freeze put them in a freezer Ziploc bag. Pull as many as you need out about 5 hours before you need them, place them on the pan and cover until they thaw and double in size. Bake according to directions. They taste as good or better than fresh!
Mel, thank you again for your amazing site! It is so fun to cook now!
I am not sure what happened..but, these did not turn out & I am so disappointed
It may have happened because I tried the substitute for instant yeast with active dry/warm water/sugar. The dough never completely doubled in size and they didn’t rise at all once formed into rolls..they turned out very dense..bland. Please help!
Hi Chelsea – I’m sorry these rolls didn’t turn out for you. There may be a number of factors…when you activated the yeast in the warm water and sugar did it bubble and foam? Did they rise at all – just not doubled? If they rose even slightly, it means your yeast was active but it could also mean that the dough was overfloured. If too much flour is added to a yeast dough (bread or rolls), the dough will be too stiff and won’t rise well which can cause dense rolls. Using active dry versus instant yeast should make a huge difference as long as the yeast activates (bubbles and foams) when using active dry yeast. Another factor is if the cornmeal/milk mixture is still too hot when adding the yeast mixture, it can kill the yeast and the rolls won’t rise. But if your rolls rose even slightly then it makes me think the dough might have been overfloured. I hope that helps a little – it’s hard for me to know exactly if I’m not right there with you but this could be a starting place if you want to attempt making them again (and I hope you do!).
Melanie, either I’m the worst bread maker or my kitchen is cursed. I’ve tried many of your roll recipes and they never turn out perfect. These cornmeal rolls turned out fine except for the fact that they had globs of cornmeal that I couldn’t get to dissolve and they weren’t filled with flavor. I know it’s me, I just have to figure out what I am doing wrong. But thank you for posting these recipes! I had them with baked spaghetti and salad!!
Mel – I’ve loved your recipes ever since i tried your banana bread!
Thanks for such a reliable source of things to try. Tried the chewy pretzel bites last nite. Lovely even though I didn’t get a chance to stand it for 30 mins. 
Can’t wait to try this out – but I was wondering if you’ve ever tried making only 1 dozen rolls? I can’t decide between 2 eggs or 1 egg to use… Help!!
Thanks in advance!
methinks cornbread has just been replaced as my go-to bread-using-cornmeal–these look and sound quite incredible!
These rolls are absolutely delicious! We had them for dinner last night – and for breakfast this morning
By the way, I used the active dry yeast and they are light and fluffy and tender. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made these for Sunday dinner yesterday and they were amazing!!! Everyone loved them and I loved the little bit of texture the cornmeal added. My daughter had a friend staying with us for the weekend and I even got a shout out on Facebook for the rolls she liked them so much!!! They are just as good the next day as I ate one for breakfast this morning. I did end up with yeast all over my countertop though as my yeast really had no problem rising!!!
I tried these last Friday and agree that they are AMAZING! They were perfect! I felt quite proud of myself for how beautiful and delicious they were.
I LOVED your tutorial on yeast! That totally helped me make sure I had the right amount of flour. Thanks for making me successful in the kitchen once again!
We used to make a hamburger bun recipe growing up that had a cornmeal mush with milk and cornmeal with butter in it for a base. They were really good!
Is the butter meant to be melted?
Ok…one more question? I’m I meant to knead the dough? I ended up kneading 10 mins by hand…or is that not necessary for these rolls?
n82 – no, you shouldn’t melt the butter. I have used butter straight out of the refrigerator or butter that is at room temperature. Either way, I add it to the hot cornmeal mixture and it melts into it perfectly.
n82 – that’s a great question and I need to edit the recipe. Yes, you should knead the dough – so it sounds like your 10 minutes kneading by hand was just right. I’ll add the kneading step to the recipe since I left it out.
I’m thinking you should post a picture of Aunt Marilyn. I love her recipes
These were amazing and light. Loved the ease and simplicity. Thank you for posting this great recipe!!!
These were just awesome! So simple and easy to make. It’s the first time I ever made rolls and I was so glad they came out perfect! Thank you!
So, once it’s in the bowl of a stand mixer, can I mix with the flat beater until I add the flour & then switch to the dough hook?
Okay, you are going to be the death of me! What kind of flour do you use? I never buy flour at the store anymore. Between hard white and soft white wheat, which would work best here? Maybe a combination? I am planning to make these for Easter. Yum!!
And to the question about milk — scalding milk breaks down the protease, which inhibits or fully prevents yeast activation. I use an instant read thermometer (Thermapen, best investment ever) and scald to 190 degrees. Then cool to between 105-114 degrees before using. Any hotter and the yeast will die. Also, if you live overseas like me, and have only ultra-pasturized milk available, you do not need to scald it, and it has already been scalded. Just warm it to 110 degrees (lukewarm, same as a baby bottle) and you are good to go.
Anne – I either use unbleached all-purpose flour or I grind my own white wheat. I also alternate between hard white and soft white. My real preference is soft white but I use both. In these rolls, I’d say soft white wheat would be your best bet. I’ve only made these rolls with 1/2 whole wheat flour. If you try them with 100% whole wheat, let me know how they turn out! Thanks for the info on scalding. For the purposes of this recipe, scalding is mainly meant to heat the milk so that it will thicken the cornmeal. I could probably use another word besides “scald” since it seems there is a lot of technical info behind the term!
I have to thank you for making me into a great roll/bread maker! Your tutorials have helped me so much! I wanted to quickly share a little something that happend by accident while I was making these rolls for the 3rd time.
I ran short on my cornmeal but I didn’t realize it until I already started to warm the milk. Not wanting to waste or run to the grocery store, I decided to add to the cornmeal, some of the ZOOM hot cereal that I had in my pantry. Let me tell you that I wasn’t sure that this recipe could be anymore delicious……but it was! The added bit of the “wheat germy taste” was amazing! Now….if I could only get the rolls to look as pretty as yours do in the picture…:)
Happy Easter Mel! We will be using a few of your recipes today! One question about the rolls, when you make them overnight and place them in the fridge, how long to you let them warm to room temperature before baking them? Thanks so much!
Thank you. I made these last Sunday and they were requested again today. They were delicious and so easy.
Hi Janel – I usually take them out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before I want to bake them. This gives them time to come to room temperature and finish rising. If it looks like they rose quite a bit in the refrigerator than you could err on less time, but 2 hours is about my standard.
We had these today for Easter. Loved them! Thanks for the recipe. We are also addicted to the honey lime fruit salad….I need to get my sister a lime tree she makes it so much. You are our go-to recipe source. I love how you credit your sources and I love hearing how you got recipes….we were telling my mom where you got the honey lime salad recipe from and it just makes recipes more meaningful to know where they are from. Thanks again….and keep it up!!
They just came out of the oven and I had to try one! So light and fluffy. I cut each of my three circles into 12ths, so got 3 dozen rolls and they are still so big (maybe I let them rise a little too much?) but they look great and taste great and I get a whole dozen more! My 4 year old daughter loved helping me roll out the dough, then ‘paint’ it with the butter, cut with the pizza cutter, then roll up the rolls for me. Thanks for the recipe.
I am so awful at making bread products that I gave up for the past year. Haven’t even gone there. I saw these and wanted to make them so bad, but just knew I would screw them up. So I through all the ingredients into a breadmaker and hoped for the best. Well……with the cornmeal mixture on the bottom, it wouldn’t mix. I didn’t want to waste all the ingredients, so I through them all in my bosch, gave it a spin and decided to got for it figuring it would all go into the trash. But then…They raised! And they cooked beautifully! They were amazing! I froze half after rolling them up and I think I liked those ones even better! I don’t know why it worked, but it did, and you got me my confidence back. Thanks!
These sounded delicious so I gave them a try on Easter. I don’t know what I did wrong but I had clumps of cornmeal that I couldn’t break up. I didn’t want people getting clumps when they bit into their rolls so I tossed it and went back to my regular recipe. Any tips on getting a clump-free cornmeal mixture?
Alison – it’s hard to know exactly what went wrong…I’ve never had that happen, but my guess is maybe too high of heat that caused the clumping when cooking the cornmeal/milk. It seems to me that cooking it too hot could cause the cornmeal to clump. I usually have my stovetop on medium-low heat during that step. If not that, then I’m not sure, to be honest! Perhaps more vigorous stirring or whisking next time?
Heavenly!!! I made these tonight for dinner and they are now a favorite!!! The only thing I would do differently is separate it into 4 sections instead of 3. Mine turned out pretty large. They would be really, really good with different Italian seasoning. Thank you for sharing!!!
Perhaps this is a wierd question, but do you think I could sub these crescents whenever a recipe calls for the crescent rolls you can buy in a can? I don’t hate the flavor of the cresecents in a can but I do try not to eat processed foods. What do you think?
Amy – not a weird question at all, actually. I’ve wondered the same thing but have yet to try it, although I believe another commenter mentioned they had made some chicken pillow-type things using this recipe. I plan to try it, with the assumption they won’t taste exactly like the crescent rolls from the can (although that may not be a bad thing). I think the trick will be to roll the dough as thin as possible.
Loved these for Easter and Mother’s day and my boys enjoyed helping roll them. The second time I made them, I took the last circle of wedges and smeared butter, sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on them, and baked them for breakfast. My new favorite “mock” cinnamon roll.
Mel, I trust you completely so I tried this recipe for the first time for a bake sale. I made a double batch. Lovely! Someone who bought the rolls even called me to tell me how wonderful they were while her mouth was still full of the buttery goodness
These were so easy to put together other than a double batch of dough will not fit in my kitchen aid for kneading very well so I ended up doing that by hand for 10 min. I used regular yeast desolved in the water & sugar as you instruct. I made them the night before the sale and placed the shaped rolls in the fridge covered with greased plastic wrap. I was surprised at how quickly they rose once I took them out. Took maybe 40min max to warm up and double and I wouldn’t say my kitchen was overly warm. I did find that when I rolled the dough out into a larger circle, about 10″to 11″, that the shape of the resulting roll looked better. I like a previous commenter’s tip to freeze the shaped rolls. Anything I can take out of the freezer that gives me a head start on dinner makes me happy.
Awesome rolls! These are so tender and delicious. I have made them twice now, once with half whole wheat flour, half bread flour, and once with mostly whole wheat flour and just about a cup of bread flour. I just kneaded the dough for a little bit longer when I used more wheat flour to develop the gluten.
Mel, forgive my roll baking newness….but does it matter what % fat milk you use? I typically have skim in my house.
Erin – I always use 1% and they turn out fine. Definitely try them with the skim – I think they should work just fine.
Hi Mel
Thanks for so many great recipes. It is always fun to see what is coming up next. I have to try this recipe and was wondering if you thought I could switch the yellow cornmeal to white cornmeal which I have on hand. I am head of a large group of local women who raise money to help send severely handicapped children to camp each summer. Each December, we have our big event and serve a large array of fabulous appetizers which we need to change up each year. I am going to try and use this recipe in some way making small “chicken bites” with the sauce as a dipping sauce. Thanks.
Cookies4kids – I’ve never tried it with white cornmeal, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Yes, give it a go! What a worthy event you are working toward in December. I hope it is a great success and I bet your little chicken bites will go quickly!
Oh, my gosh…were these ever good! This is my daughter’s fb post for t0day: “the blog that my mom and I got a recipe from for rolls said they created a “carb-induced nirvana”. she was definitely right
” Another melskitchencafe hit! Thanks!
These are SO incredible! I’ve made them twice already, and am making them a third time today (plan to freeze them and get them out Sunday morning to serve at my son’s mission “farewell”). Oh, and a friend needed a good crescent recipe to serve chicken salad on (for her daughter’s wedding), and I suggested these. Thanks for sharing such divine recipes!
Love-love-love this recipe! Thanks for posting!
Ok, I am now addicted!!! We made them and they were so amazing delicious! It made so many it was nice to be able to have leftovers. We made hot ham and cheese sandwiches on them for lunch the rest of the week and they were outstanding! Thank you so much!!
You are officially my “go-to” for roll recipes. Everything I’ve made from your site turns out great and is favorite with my kids (and me). I’ll definitely be trying this one soon.
Can’t wait to try these! Will do a test batch this week before Thanksgiving. Question, though: can these be baked in other ways other than a crescent?
Evelyn – I’ve only ever made them as crescent rolls or rolled similar to the Lion House rolls, pictured here. The dough is very soft and tender so they may do ok being rolled into a round dinner roll shape, too, but I’ve never made them that way.
I found this recipe on Pinterest & gave it a try today. In the past, I have had trouble with yeast breads – they never seem to rise enough (or I let them rise too much & they fall). But I loved the cornmeal idea, so I went for it. I followed the directions as closely as I could & tried not to overflour the dough (I ended up using about 5 cups, because I live in a dry climate). They are in the oven now, & they smell amazing & look beautiful. We’re eating with family tonight, & I am so excited to bring these beauties. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Made these today (testing this recipe and another one for Thanksgiving). These were really great and will be the ones for Thanksgiving! One question: what brand of cornmeal do you use? My hubby and I both got “grits” of corn meal when we ate the rolls hot (but they weren’t noticeable when the rolls had cooled). I used Quaker corn meal and compared it to Kroger and it is not quite as fine. I think I’ll use the finer corn meal when I make them for Thanksgiving.
I made the rolls in crescents today, but think I might try a batch of these for Thanksgiving, because I just love them and they’re so festive: http://lindstewfoodies.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-turkey-rolls.html
Thanks!
: : lindstewfoodies : :
Lindsey – I’m pretty sure I have the Quaker brand of yellow cornmeal in my pantry right now. You might like the finer corn meal if the texture was off-putting at first. Love the idea of the turkey rolls – so cute!
The first time I tried these I was expecting flaky crescent rolls like you get in a tube. They were nothing like that but better in their own way! They were soft and tender with a little bit of texture from the cornmeal. And no weird ingredients; homemade with love in my kitchen, just the way it should be! The second time I made these I was a few tablespoons short on cornmeal so I used instant grits to make up the difference and I loved them even more! Thanks for another winning recipe!
I made these for Thanksgiving. My nephew ate 6 at one sitting. They are so good and surprisingly easy. I’ve made them twice, both times with perfect results. The first time I put half of the dough in the freezer. My daughter got it out one Sunday when I was out of town (can’t believe I didn’t get in on a second helping!), thawed out the dough, and they baked up just as tasty as the first go round!
I know it’s a little late but just a not for Evelyn Ross. Last night I made a double batch with half of the rolls shaped as the Lion House Rolls and the other half as traditional dinner rolls and it worked great.
Mel- HUGE fan of your site. I daresay that you are the equivalent of my mom’s Better Homes and Gardens cookbook when it comes to how I use you as my go-to “cookbook” for all recipes. Thanks for all your hard work!
Three words – worth every minute!
I made these rolls last night, and they were so good! I loved how light and fluffy they were, and the flavor was just right. This is now my “go-to Sunday dinner roll” recipe. The only thing I messed up on is I didn’t whisk in my cornmeal, so I got a few clumps. I pulled them out as I shaped the rolls, so it turned out just fine.
I made these the other day….and they are a new favorite! I’m making them again tonight to go with the sweet and sour meatballs.
I’ve been making so many of your recipes and they are all excellent! When my husband comes home to work, he smells the food cooking in the oven and asks if it’s one of Mel’s recipes….when I say yes, he knows he’s in for a good dinner
About how long from start to finish do these take? Have you ever tried using quick rise yeast?
Cassidy – quick rise or rapid rise yeast is the same as instant yeast and I use instant yeast exclusively so the quick rise yeast will work just fine in this recipe. I can’t say for sure how long they take start to finish because so much depends on the warmth of your kitchen, but a ballpark estimate is probably around 3-4 hours.
{ 1 trackback }