14 Nifty Ways To Shape Rolls

Here are instructions and illustrations for a variety of ways to shape all kinds of different rolls, this comes from one of my favorite vintage cookbooks (credit below).

Making Butterfly Rolls, Crescents, Butter Fluffs and Salt Sticks

Butterfly Rolls: Roll dough only 1/8″ thick into an oblong 6″ wide. Spread with soft butter, and roll up like jelly roll. Cut into 2″ pieces. Make a deep impression with narrow wooden handle in middle of each roll (to resemble butterfly).

Crescents: (Butterhorns): Roll dough scarcely 1/4″ thick into a 12″ circle. Spread with soft butter. Cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Beginning at rounded edge, roll up. Place on pan, point underneath.

Butter Fluffs: (Fan Tans): Roll dough 1/8″ thick into a long oblong 9″ wide. Spread with soft butter. Cut into 6 long strips 1 1/2″ wide. Stack 6 strips evenly, one on top of other. Cut into 1″ pieces. Place cut-side-down in greased muffin cups.

Salt Sticks: Roll dough very thin into oblong 8″ wide. Cut into 4″ squares. Starting at a corner, roll each square diagonally to opposite corner. Round the ends. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Shaping Dinner Rolls

Shaping Dinner Rolls, Old-Fashioned Biscuits, Parkerhouse Rolls & Cloverleaf Rolls

Dinner Rolls: Roll dough into cylindrical shapes with tapered ends and place on pan.

Old-Fashioned Biscuits: Form dough into balls 1/3 size desired. Place close together in a greased round pan.

Parkerhouse Rolls: Roll dough 1/4″ thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Brush with melted butter. Make crease across each. Fold so top half slightly overlaps. Press edges together at crease. Place close together on pan.

Cloverleaf Rolls: Form bits of dough into balls about 1″ in diameter. Place 3 balls in each greased muffin cup. Brush with butter for flavor.

Shaping Twisted Rolls

For all the twisted shapes, roll dough a little less than 1/2″ thick into a long oblong 12″ wide. Spread with soft butter. Fold 1/2 of dough over the other half. Trim edges to square the corners. Cut into strips 1/2″ wide and 6″ long.

Shaping Figure 8's, Twists & Snails

Figure 8’s: Hold one end of strip in one hand and twist the other end…stretching it slightly until the two ends when brought together on greased baking sheet will form a figure 8.

Twists: Same as Figure 8’s, but give strip additional twist just before placing it on baking sheet.

Snails: Twist and hold one end of the strip down on baking sheet. Wind strip around and around. Tuck end underneath.

Shaping Clothespin Crullers, Knots & Toad-In-The-Holes

Clothespin Crullers: Wrap strip around greased clothespin so edges barely touch. When baked, twist clothespin and pull out. May be filled with fruit fillings.

Knots: Twist and tie each strip into a knot. Press ends down on greased baking sheet.

Toad-In-Hole (Turk’s Cap): Twist and tie each strip with a knot in one end of strip. Then pull the longer end through center of knot.

Source: This comes from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book (1950), a favorite vintage cookbook in my collection. I see Betty Crocker has issued a facsimile (ring-bound) version for sale on Amazon if you’d like a copy of this book for your own collection: Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook.