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side view close up shot of a hot cross bun criss crossed with icing
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4.57 from 51 votes

No Knead Hot Cross Buns

These NO KNEAD Hot Cross Buns are super soft, fluffy, loaded with apples and perfectly spiced. With my no fail recipe for these delicious Apple Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns, you'll be making the easiest buns ever with no kneading required!
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Resting Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Bread, Rolls, Side Dish
Cuisine: English
Keyword: hot cross buns, hot cross buns recipe, no knead hot cross buns
Servings: 24
Calories: 232kcal

Ingredients

Buns

  • 5 medium apples peeled, cored and shredded (I used Gala apples)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups milk lukewarm, I used 2%
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg ground
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoon butter unsalted, melted

Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

  • cup water
  • cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground

Cinnamon Icing

  • ¾ cup icing sugar same as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoon cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon butter unsalted, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Make dough

  • Place the shredded apples on 4 sheets of paper towels in a strainer, and place the strainer inside a bowl. Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt over the apples and stir them. This will release the liquid from the apples, this way we can control the liquid in the dough. Let them sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze the juice from the apples, as much as you can. Keep the juice, in case you need more liquid for the dough.
  • In a medium size bowl, whisk the warm milk with the sugar and yeast. Let it rest for 5 minutes. If using active dry yeast, it might take longer for the yeast to activate, 10 to 15 minutes. See notes for more info.
  • In another large bowl add the flour, the other tsp of salt, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon then whisk until fully incorporated. Stir in the shredded apple.
  • To the bowl with the milk and yeast add the eggs, butter and whisk well. Add this to the flour mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon until well combined. You should have a thick sticky dough, see video. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest until doubled in size, for about 1 hour. See notes for tips.

Form Balls

  • Line a 16.5 x 11.38 x 1 inches baking sheet with parchment paper.  
  • Remove the towel from the dough and sprinkle with some flour over the top. Also dust your work surface and hands with flour. Place the dough on the work surface and shape it into a log. Cut it into 24 equal pieces.
  • To shape each piece into a roll, take a piece and flatten it with your palm or fingers. Fold it up into a ball by pinching the sides together, turn it over and roll it briefly. See video. 
  • Place the bun with the smooth side up onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough pieces and line them up 4 x 6. 
  • Cover the baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel and let the rolls rise a second time for about 30 minutes. Do NOT let them rise longer, you only want them to rise about 50% to 75% more as they will finish rising in the oven.
  • About 10 minutes before the rolls are done rising, preheat your oven to 350℉. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

  • In a small sauce pan add all the glaze ingredients and heat over medium heat. After it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and cook for another 3 minutes. All the sugar should be dissolved and the glaze should have thickened a bit. Remove from heat and set aside. The glaze should thicken more as it cools.
  • Once the hot cross buns are done baking, remove them from the oven and immediately brush them with the glaze. Let them cool for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Icing

  • Whisk all the icing ingredients together and transfer the icing to a piping bag or ziploc bag. Snip the piping bag or a corner of the ziploc bag.
  • Pipe crosses onto the buns with the icing. 

Video

Notes

  1. Crosses: Traditionally the crosses on hot cross buns are made with a flour and water mixture, not icing. If you want to do this, whisk together about 1/2 cup of flour and 5 tbsp water until a paste forms. Transfer this to a piping bag and pipe crosses on the buns before baking. 
  2. Tip for increasing dough rising time: Preheat your oven to 150 F to 200 F degrees, then turn off the oven. Place the covered bowl with the dough in the oven and close the door. The dough should rise in 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will ensure a nice and warm, draft free environment for the dough.
  3. Yeast: I used instant yeast but active dry yeast can be used as well. Please note that usually instant yeast does not need to be activated, only active dry yeast does. However, I like to mix whisk my instant yeast with the milk sugar, but it can be added directly to the flour. 
  4. Make sure your milk is not too hot or it could kill the yeast which will cause your dough not to rise at all. The ideal temperature for the milk should be between 105 F degrees and 110 F for proofing. While 95 F degrees is the best temperature for yeast to multiply, that's not warm enough for proofing active dry yeast. 
  5. Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn't expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
  6. To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
  7. Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Serving: 1hot cross bun | Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 222mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1.6mg