Crockpot Yeast Rolls Recipe with Apple Butter

This easy yeast rolls recipe is my favorite variety of crockpot bread, with a rich sweet flavor and moist tender texture. Just the kind of rolls you want to serve on Thanksgiving!

Crockpot Yeast Rolls Recipe with Apple Butter

Yep, you read that right. Yeast Rolls. Made with apple butter. In a slow cooker.

Let me backtrack for a moment…

Hi, my name is Sommer and I’m a bread burner.

It’s been 3 weeks since I last burned a baguette and scraped the black crumby evidence into the kitchen sink…

What, you think just because I create recipes for a living I never struggle in the kitchen?

I’ve burned bread my whole life. I can’t even prepare a proper piece of toast without having one of the kids stand over the toaster for me with wooden tongs in hand.

Slow Cooker Bread

I’m going to blame it on my mother. Bread-burning runs in the family.

My mother is an amazing cook. She was my first inspiration and mentor in the kitchen, and has taught me many things over the years.

But, my mother burns bread.

Among all the useful kitchen tips I’ve learned from her, I also indirectly learned that bread is the least important element in a meal. Therefore, you pop it in the oven and never look back.

That is, until you smell the dark char wafting from the oven.

This is how I was raised and this is how I’ve always treated bread.

Until I discovered crockpot bread.

Crockpot Bread

Crockpot bread has changed my whole perspective on bread baking.

No, it’s not the most glamorous bread, with a glossary top and crispy crust, but it’s almost impossible to burn and it stays extremely moist.

Because crockpot bread is cooked on low heat in a slow cooker, the bottom develops color and crust and the rest of the bread is steamed to perfection.

This apple butter yeast rolls recipe is one of my favorite varieties of crockpot bread. It’s slightly sweet with a deep apple flavor and the little yeast rolls stay so soft and moist, they are impossible to resist.

Apple Butter Yeast Rolls Recipe

Yes, this apple butter yeast rolls recipe takes much longer to bake in a slow cooker than in the oven, but if you are like me (a notorious bread burner) it’s worth the extra time.

You can casually check the yeast rolls whenever you get around to it, knowing that extra few minutes is not going to ruin the whole bread baking endeavor.

Easy Recipe For Yeast Rolls

Another reason to make your apple butter yeast rolls in a slow cooker is to save room in the oven for other dishes.

Thanksgiving would be a great time to try this yeast rolls recipe. While your turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and casseroles are hogging the oven, your sweet little yeast rolls will be steaming away on the counter top, without fear of burning.

Crockpot bread has been a revelation for me.

If you’ve never tried it, this apple butter yeast rolls recipe is the perfect place to start!

Ingredients For Slow Cooker Yeast Rolls

• Dry active yeast – To create the lifting in the dough, so the rolls are light and tender.
• Warm water – To activat the yeast. Make sure the water is just above room temperature… If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast.
• Sugar – To feed the yeast and help it grow.
• Apple butter – To offer rich flavor and a moist texture to the yeast rolls.
• Egg – For binding.
• Salt – All baked goods need a little salt.
• Bread flour – To create structure in the dough.
• Melted butter – For the tops of the rolls.
• Brown sugar – To make the tops of the rolls glisten!

More Beloved Bread Recipes

• Homemade Breadsticks
• Rosemary and Red Onion Focaccia
• Truffle Parmesan Biscuits
• Banana Coconut Bread
• Easy Cinnamon Drop Biscuits
• Southern Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Buttercrust Rolls ~ Eat Live Run
• Gluten Free Hawaiian Sweet Bread ~ Living Without
• Apple Bran Bread ~ Musselman’s
• Salted Pretzel Bread ~ Bake Your Day
• Best Dinner Rolls ~ Mom On Time Out

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Leave a Review »

Crockpot Yeast Rolls Recipe with Apple Butter

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

These Slow Cooker Apple Butter Yeast Rolls make a great crockpot bread recipe.

Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast, 1 packet
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup apple butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional

Instructions

• Using an electric mixer with a bread hook, place the warm water (just barely over luke-warm, too hot will kill the yeast) and sugar in the mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it foam for 10 minutes.
• Then turn on the mixer and add the apple butter, egg and salt. Slowly add the flour. Once all the flour is in the bowl, add the melted butter. "Knead" the dough with the bread hook for 5-8 minutes.
• The dough will be smooth, but very tacky. Dump it out onto a floured work surface. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into 4 quarters. Then cut each quarter into 6 equal pieces, to make 24 small dough segments.
• Turn the ends of each dough segment under to create little balls. Then place a large piece of parchment paper in a 6-quart slow cooker, and press down. Arrange 12 dough balls in the slow cooker. Then carefully lift the parchment paper out, and repeat with the remaining dough balls and another piece of parchment, creating two separate batches. Place the lid on the crockpot and cover the additional dough balls on the counter, with plastic wrap. Allow them to rise for 1 hour at room temperature. *At this point the dough balls could be put in the fridge for up to a week, until ready to bake.
• Sprinkle the rolls with a little brown sugar. Turn the slow cooker on high and "bake" for 60-90 minutes, depending on your crockpot. To test, touch the top of the rolls. If they feel slightly firm and are no longer tacky, the rolls are ready. Repeat with the second batch of dough balls. Each batch will cook for 60-90 minutes, 3 hrs total.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 118kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 167mg, Potassium: 41mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 70IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 6mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

Making this recipe? Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!

Share This Recipe With Friends!