Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

2/3 cup yellow corn meal

1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast OR 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast softened in 1/2 cup water + 1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I think next time I'd use salted butter or increase the salt added just a titch)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

5 ½ – 6 cups flour (I used 1/3 - 1/2 whole wheat)

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.  Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm (I'd say don't wait too long, because you want it warm enough to melt the butter, but not hot enough to kill the yeast). Add the yeast, butter (not melted - it will melt from the heat of the cornmeal mixture) 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 or a towel 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.   (I divided the dough in half because I used half for the Chicken Pillow recipe, then rolled the rest into a big circle, about 1/4" thick, and cut it into 12 wedges.  I forgot to brush with butter before rolling into crescent shapes, but I think they'll be fine when I cook them.  I placed the rolls on a cookie sheet - closer than I would have if they were going to be rising - and immediately put them in the freezer for a couple hours.  Once they were hard, I popped them in a ziplock bag, ready to be grabbed and thawed when needed.)

Place each roll on a lightly greased 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:
While I haven't baked mine up yet (besides the one that didn't have enough filling left to become a Chicken Pillow), I have full confidence that these will be most delicious rolls.  I love my regular crescent recipe, but the cornmeal base of these intrigued me, and I must say, they were very fun to make.