Vegan Crescent Rolls

Nothing screams comfort like walking into a kitchen amid the wafting aromas of freshly baked bread. My dad still talks about walking into a neighbors kitchen as a child and being surrounded by the wonderful aromas of fresh baked bread, I believe there may have also been pies and cookies involved.

I use Fleishmanns active dry yeast, it comes in a little brown glass jar. I keep the yeast in the freezer, in its little jar. I don’t know the reasoning behind the freezer storage, it is just something that was passed down and it works for me so I keep doing it. I don’t have a thermometer for the water temperature, so I tend to run the hot water in my sink until I can put my finger in the water and it feels warm but not scalding. I put the water in a large bowl and then sprinkle the yeast in, stirring with a wooden or plastic mixing spoon until the yeast is dissolved, never a metal spoon. Then add in the pureed tofu, applesauce and milk. Next add in the sugar and salt.

Add the flour in slowly as you may need a little more or a little less to get a not too sticky dough that you are able to easily knead. I like to dampen a clean towel with hot water and then lay the towel over my dough in the prepared bowl. I usually set the bowl on my stove top with the range hood lights on to give off more heat. It typically takes an hour for the dough to double in size. If you leave it to rise for too long the dough will be stuck to the damp towel and make for a bit of a mess. I like to reuse the same towel to cover the rolls once they are shaped while the dough rises the second time.

You don’t need to have a perfect circle when you roll out the dough. I haven’t been able to achieve a perfect circle and the rolls are perfect anyway. Flour the counter and press the dough a bit with the heal of your hand and then start rolling with a rolling pin. I use softened vegan butter and a pastry brush to spread it on, you can just as easily use a butter knife to spread vegan butter on the dough. I cut the dough into 16 triangle shaped pieces starting with the four pieces as in the photo. Then just divide each triangle and then divide a second time.

Roll them up starting from the big end and put them on the prepared baking sheet, point side down in a crescent shape. I use silicone mats on my baking sheets, you can also use parchment paper. I can usually fit 16 rolls on each sheet, so you will need two baking sheets. Cover them with a clean cloth dampened with hot water and let them rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. You will need two towels this time, one for each baking sheet.

Be careful not to over cook your crescent rolls after all the work you have put into them. Remove them from the oven when they are lightly browned as in the photo below. Serve with your favorite toppings. We prefer Miyokos cultured vegan butter. You could even whip up a batch of “chicken” salad and have “chicken” salad crescent roll sandwiches. The recipe for “chicken” salad is on my blog. A bit time consuming but definitely worth every minute. I make them a day or two ahead of when we intend to eat them. They are usually a special occasion item, mainly for holidays, however with the recent shortage of bread in the grocery it is nice to know how to make your own. Enjoy!