When you’re hosting, oven space is often a challenging feat of timing and choreography, so I “baked” the dinner rolls in the Crockpot. These Crockpot rolls are fluffy, rich with butter and the smell of rosemary will fill your house. The brilliant part is you can plug in your slow cooker anywhere so it is out of the way and your oven is free for the rest of the meal. Just before serving, I brown the tops under the broiler but that is an optional move.
Be sure to check out all the other recipes from my holiday special, Holiday Party with Andrew & Zoë!
Servings: 8 large rolls
Ingredients
Roux (aka Tangzhong)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons bread flour
Dough
- 2 3/4 cup (358g) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, plus more for tops
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Make the Roux (Tangzhong): In a small saucepan, mix together the water, whole milk, and bread flour until combined. Cook over medium heat, stirring until a thick, white paste is formed, about 2 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes.
- To make the Dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the remaining bread flour, salt, sugar, yeast, whole milk, buttermilk, egg, butter, and rosemary for 1 minute. Add the roux (Tangzhong) and mix until it comes together to make a uniform dough, about 5 to 8 minutes. Cover with a wet towel or plastic wrap and let rest for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, prepare the crockpot. Pad the bottom of a 6-quart crockpot insert with a piece of crumpled-up aluminum foil that is about 1/2-inch thick (this will protect the bottom of the rolls from over-browning), then line the entire insert of the crockpot with a larger sheet of foil and finally place a large piece of parchment paper over the foil (These steps prevent the dough from sticking to the sides as they rise and bake).
- Once the dough is fully risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 8 to 12 portions. Roll into round buns. Place the buns into the prepared crock pot and "bake" on the "high" setting for about 1 1⁄2 hours, the timing will depend on your machine. Don’t uncover until the tops look set. They will be pale in color and may deflate a bit when uncovered, so check them quickly by tapping lightly on the top. Check the center buns. If they seem set and not like raw dough, they can be finished under the broiler.
- Once they are done cooking in the crockpot, remove the rolls and place on a baking sheet. Brush with butter and broil in the oven for about 5 minutes to brown and finish the baking. Brush with more butter and flaky sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. Best served the day they are made.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If your crockpot doesn’t have high just options for steam, slow cook, what button should I use?
Hi Jennifer, Zoë recommends using the slow cook button, but she’s unsure of how long it will take to cook since she doesn’t have that option. Please let us know how it goes!
What do you set the crockpot too? Low or high?
Great catch! It should be on high. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this. Thank you!
Thank you! 🙂
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I saw it on your lovely holiday special on Max. My question is: at what setting should the crockpot be set? High, low, warm?
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl! It should be set to high. Enjoy!
Hi Zoe,
My rolls didn’t rise very much on the first rise, but I think I followed the directions. Also, could you tell me if you set the crockpot on hi or low? I couldn’t find that in your directions. The rolls are in the crockpot now, so sure hope they turn out. They looked so good on your show!
Hi Christa! I hope they worked out for you. Please let us know! The setting should be on high. Thanks so much for letting us know it was missing from the recipe. It’s updated now!