Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Light, flaky and absolutely soft and tender, these buttery cornmeal crescent rolls are decadent, delicious and perfect for any occasion.
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.
FAQs for Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
I’d suggest making the dough, letting it rise, shaping the rolls, and then letting the rolls refrigerate overnight. But if you don’t have the fridge space to do that, pop the dough in the fridge right after you make it (no rising) and let it rise the next day out of the fridge (it will probably puff and rise a bit overnight in the fridge, too).
I’ve used 50% wheat and 50% white flour with good results!
Yes, I bake and cool the rolls then freeze in ziploc bags. You then gently rewarm them, and the texture is still great.
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Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
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
Recommended Products
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.
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?
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!
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.
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!!
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.
Thank you. I made these last Sunday and they were requested again today. They were delicious and so easy.
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!
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…:)
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!
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?
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!
These were amazing and light. Loved the ease and simplicity. Thank you for posting this great recipe!!!
I’m thinking you should post a picture of Aunt Marilyn. I love her recipes 🙂
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 – 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.
Is the butter meant to be melted?
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.
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!
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!
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!!!
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!
methinks cornbread has just been replaced as my go-to bread-using-cornmeal–these look and sound quite incredible!
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!
Which banana bread?? I only see carrot banana bread :/ is that the one? wow ..this is an old thread….and I’m just getting in line to cook these items :0)
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/buttermilk-banana-bread/ It really is the very best I’ve ever had!
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!!
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!).
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!
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 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.
It takes a lot to tempt me to bake anything. But you may have done it. Thank you for sharing.
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!!!
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.
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!
Oooooo… another roll recipe! Yipee! What’s the time scale on this one? More like Lion House Rolls or shorter like French bread rolls?
Alisha – I’d say these are more along the lines of the Lion House rolls.
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!
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 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 🙂
Those look incredible! I can’t wait to give them a try and join you in carb heaven!
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.
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.
Ooh just in time for Easter! Thank you!!
Alright you convinced me! Sounds like they are the best 🙂 I will have to give them a try!
looks so delicious and cute! I`d like to have such for my breakfast 🙂
These sound just amazing – I’ve got all the ingredients on hand, I’m flagging this to try!
Ok fine, I’ll join you. 🙂 That sounds delicious!
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!
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!
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!
Can’t wait to try these! They look beautiful!
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.
These look amazing! I am always trying to find a way to use corn meal. I may have to try this 🙂
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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!
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! 🙂
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!
Yum! Can’t wait to try this!