Crescent Rolls

Yield:24

This recipe came to me from my maternal grandmother and is a holiday tradition in my house, though they are good rolls any time of year. They are tender, light and slightly sweet. Even better, the dough is made the night before and rises in the refrigerator, making them a fairly low-effort roll. They freeze very well, should there be any left over.

1 C. warm milk (lowfat or nonfat) 1 pkg. dry yeast 4 C. all-purpose flour (unbleached if possible) 1/2 C. granulated sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 eggs, beaten 1/3 C. canola or vegetable oil (not olive)

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and whip well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator uncovered* and let stand overnight.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

3. Divide the dough in half. Roll out half of the dough into a circle the size of a pie plate.

4. Cut 12 wedges out of the circle of dough. Roll each piece from the wide side in to form a crescent. Place on a greased or lined cookie sheet 1" apart with the tail of the roll tucked under.

5. Repeat with the 2nd half of the dough.

6. Cover the rolls with a light tea towel or dish towel and let rise for several hours. If your kitchen is too cool, turn on your oven light and place the pans in the oven to rise. The light should generate enough heat to help the rolls rise.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. If baking more than one pan of rolls at a time, rotate the top and bottom pans halfway through cooking for even browning.

* My grandmother's recipe says to let these rolls rest uncovered in the refrigerator overnight and they do turn out this way though there may be a bit of a dry skin on top of the dough which will get mixed in when kneading. If you cover the dough before refrigerating, the dough will sweat and form a slippery layer on top, which isn't recommended. I split the difference and let the dough cool completely in the refrigerator uncovered, then loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap.