Rue Tatin Sweet Crescent Rolls

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Every year at this time, I renew my search for the perfect cinnamon roll. I've been looking for decades now and still come up short. I've finally decided that the only way I'll ever find my golden fleece, is to rob elements of existing recipes, and combine them in such a fashion that they can be called my own. Tonight's post is not about cinnamon rolls, it is, rather, about an outstanding sweet dough that I think will work very nicely as a base for them. I know most of you have read the charming memoir, On Rue Tatin, written by Susan Loomis. Tucked between its covers is a lovely recipe called Les Pains De Rapprochement or The Rolls That Brought us Together. That dough is the one I'll be using next week when I feature the world's ultimate cinnamon roll. They are really good and I think you forgive my modest brag when you taste them. Anyway, I tested Susan's recipe exactly as it was written before forging the path that will lead all of us to those very special rolls. The Silver Fox loved the basic recipe and was charmed by the shape and color of the rolls. It is at his urging that I'm sharing the original recipe for her crescent rolls with you. These are really easy to do, especially if you have a large stand mixer to do the work for you. The dough requires a bit of kneading, but it is so velvety in hand that that is a pleasure to do. These are really nice. They are meant to be served warm from the oven, but they can be reheated in a microwave if needs be. There are no tricks here. Follow the recipe and you have gorgeous crescent rolls to serve your family and friends. I hope you'll come back next week when we feature them with added bells and whistles. Here's the basic recipe.

Sweet Crescent Rolls...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Susan Herrmann Loomis

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon table salt

Directions:
1) Scald milk over medium-high heat. Pour it into large bowl of an electric mixer. Add butter and stir until butter has melted. Set aside until mixture is lukewarm.
2) Stir yeast and sugar into milk. Add 1 cup flour and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt and 1 more cup of flour. Mix vigorously until dough is smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes on medium speed.
3) Add reserved 2-1/2 cups flour and mix just until incorporated. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Continue kneading by hand until it is smooth.
4) Place dough in a bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
5) Lightly flour 2 baking sheets.
6) Turn dough onto a well-floured surface, divide it in half, and roll each half to form a circle that is 1/8-inch thick and 16-inces in diameter. Cut each circle into quarters, and cut each quarter into 4 wedges, Roll edges up, beginning at the wide end, to form crescents.
7) Place rolls on prepared sheets, leaving 2-inches between them and arranging them with tips tucked underneath. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel and let rise until they have doubled in size, at least 4 hours.
8) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
9) Bake rolls in center of oven until they are golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately. Yield: 32 crescent rolls.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Dark and Soft Restaurant Dinner Rolls - Handle the Heat
Olive and Asiago Rolls - Cookie Madness
Soft Whole Wheat Rolls - One Perfect Bite
90 Minute Dinner Rolls - Drick's Rambling Cafe
Sour Dough Dinner Rolls - Phoo-d
Potato Dinner Rolls - Sweet and Savory Tooth
Parker House Rolls - The Pioneer Woman
Soft Dinner Rolls - Inspired2Cook

This post is being linked to:
Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting