By popular demand, it had to be done – the magic Soft No Knead Dinner Rolls have now been transformed into these No Knead Cinnamon Rolls!!! Soft and fluffy with a cream cheese glaze, these will change your life. No kneading, no stand mixer, no overnight rise. You’re welcome / I’m sorry….
I’m apologising for sharing these for a number of reasons. I’m sorry to all those trying to be healthy. (Me, me!) I’m sorry to everyone trying to cut down of their carb intake. (Me, me!) I’m sorry to everyone who makes these once and are harassed to make them again and again…..
I actually wasn’t sure if I would ever share this. I had quite an astonishing number of messages here and on Facebook asking if the No Knead Dinner Rolls could be used to make cinnamon rolls. The concept sounded quite easy – just use the same dough but add a bit more flour so it was rollable into a large rectangle that could be slathered with butter and cinnamon sugar, then rolled up and cut.
The problem I kept running into – the 2 rolls in the middle of the tray just wouldn’t cook through properly. They looked cooked, but as soon as I bit into it, it was undeniably doughy.
Batches later… the answer was so simple. I ran out of bread flour and used normal flour.
Boom. It worked. Duh! Head smack! No-knead dough is more fragile than kneaded dough and bread flour makes buns slightly lighter and more tender. When you add that heavy butter / sugar slather, it weighs down the dough and adds too much moisture for the dough to rise and cook through properly.
Switch to plain / all purpose flour = slightly sturdier dough = sturdier (but still soft!) buns = fully cooked through.
Phew!
This No Knead Cinnamon Rolls recipe is also surprisingly forgiving. I’ve been amazed – you’ll see in the video that the dough looks even looser than the photos above. I’ve added flour and water right at the end to adjust the dough when it looked too thin / thick, I forgot sugar once and added that in after the 1st rise. Same result every time – couldn’t tell the difference.
As for kneaded vs no knead dough – here’s the truth. Kneaded dough makes a better bread. If that weren’t a fact, millions of bakeries around the world would be ditching their mixers. The bread is slightly more tender and keeps slightly better.
But the operative word here is slightly. The sheer convenience of this no knead recipe outweighs the small difference, and opens up a new world of possibilities for people who don’t have a stand mixer nor are inclined to knead dough by hand.
And the clincher is that when these No Knead Cinnamon Rolls are warmed slightly – just 15 seconds in the microwave – it makes them so uber soft and fluffy, you’d swear they were from a posh bakery.
Well – your family and friends will think that. You can just sit back and lap up the compliments! – Nagi x
PS You know full well these are not my Baby Hands.↓↓↓ These are my mother’s hands. She came round to be the hand model for the video. And she made these No Knead Cinnamon Rolls for the first time and specifically said that she was surprised how easy it was, even with “all that log rolling and cutting business”. 😉
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No Knead Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Buns:
- 1 tbsp dry yeast (Note 1)
- 70 g / 1/3 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar), or sub with normal white sugar
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml warm water (Note 2)
- 600 g / 20 oz plain flour / all purpose flour (4 1/2 US Cups, 4 Cups everywhere else exc Japan) (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup / 250 ml milk , lukewarm, whole or low fat, (Note 2)
- 50 g / 3.5 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs , beaten with fork
EXTRA FLOUR:
- 1/4 cup / 35g plain flour (all purpose flour), plus more as required
For Rolls:
- 90 g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 1 cup / 220 g brown sugar , packed
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 90 g / 3 oz cream cheese , softened
- 50 / 3 tbsp unsalted butter , softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
- 1 1/4 cups / 150g soft icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 2 - 3 tbsp milk , any (or water)
Instructions
Buns:
- Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.
- Place 600g/20oz flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
- Mix until combined with wooden spoon - it will be like a sticky muffin batter, not kneadable.
- Rise # 1: Cover with cling wrap and place in a warm place (25C/77F+) to rise for around 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hrs or until almost tripled in volume. (Note 4) Dough surface should be bubbly (see video or photos in post).
Making Rolls & Rise #2 (video is helpful):
- Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13" tray with baking paper with overhang.
- Mix cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
- Uncover dough, mix with spoon to deflate.
- Sprinkle half Extra Flour on work surface, pour dough on, sprinkle over remaining Extra Flour. Use hands to incorporate the flour into the dough - it may not absorb it all (or need more), the dough will stop absorbing flour when it's no longer sticky, should be soft, pliable.
- If work surface is now flour free, sprinkle with more flour.
- Shape dough into log, then roll out into 28 x 48 cm / 11 x 19" rectangle.
- Pour over butter, then brush all over, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Roll up firmly, then shape into an even log.
- Cut into 12 pieces (4cm / 1.6"), then place on tray (3 x 4).
- Cover with tea towel then place in warm place for 40 minutes or until almost doubled.
Baking / Frosting:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan / convection). Place shelf in the middle of the oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the tray at 16 minutes.
- Buns are ready when the middle rolls are golden and the outer ones are deep golden on the edges. Tap the middle ones - they should sound hollow.
- Optional: Brush with 1 tbsp / 15g melted butter to remove any residual flour spots.
- Use paper overhang to lift rolls onto cooling rack (key step - Note 5). Cool for 1 hour (will still be warm).
- Use a spoon to frost with glaze. Best served warm!
Glaze:
- Place butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until smooth (10 - 15 seconds).
- Add icing sugar, beat to incorporate. Add enough milk to make it a consistency that can be spooned over the buns and it drips slightly (see video).
Recipe Notes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
No Knead Cinnamon Rolls recipe video! Starring my mother – I’m the director/producer/cameraman/editor/screenwriter/runner/recipe developer.
Have you tried the Soft No Knead Dinner Rolls yet? 🙂
LIFE OF DOZER
You knew he’d be down there, didn’t you?
Bianca says
Hi,
Has anyone tried this with marg? I quite often only have that it my fridge.
Nagi says
I think it will work just fine! 🙂 N x
Diana says
I love Dozer. P.S. you don’t have to use your mother’s hands for demo’s. Your hand are lovely and, just fine.
Diana
Nagi says
Awww thank you for the kind words Diana! N xx
Teodora Motateanu says
I’ve just done them: they’re awesome, thanks so much for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Nagi says
Fantastic to hear Teodora! N x ❤️
Katya says
Jotting this down on my planner because I’m totally trying this! You got me at ‘No Knead.’ Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Nagi says
I hope you do! It’s so delish! N x
Mg McGrath says
hey nagi, it’s me again haha!
i wanted to try and make this for my mummy friends coming over for a play date…but your make ahead note says “follow recipe up to rolling balls”…but can’t seem to find it in your step by step instruction (sorry, maybe it’s my eyes!). please help!
many thanks x
Nagi says
Hi Mg! There’s more to that Note 6, try refreshing your page! N x
Ramona says
Hello,
I will try them tomorrow. Do you have any idea of the calories per bun roughly?
Thanks
Ramona
Shirley Hawkins says
I made these last night and they are wonderful! I had one today warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds and found it to be wonderfulas well. I have already been asked to make more for this holiday weekend. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe.
Nagi says
Thank you for the review Shirley, it’s so terrific to hear you enjoyed this! N xx
Nelle B. Williams says
An easier way to help the rolls rise, is to small mixing bowlof water to boiling in the microwave, put in regular oven, put in the rolls, close the door and let them rise. The moisture also helps the outside fo the rolls..
Nagi says
What a wonderful idea Nelle, thank you! N xx
Virginia says
Hi Nagi,
Can you make the dough ahead of time, freeze it, thaw it then let them rise before you bake it.
Nagi says
Hi Virginia! I find that freezing for longer than a couple of nights, it doesn’t rise as much. But it does still rise and it’s still nice and fluffy, but not as fluffy as baking fresh or refrigerating overnight. 🙂 N xx
Kathy says
I’m making the no knead rolls , do u spray the bottom of pan before u put your rolls in to bake ?
Kathy
Nagi says
Hi Kathy! I line with paper – please see the video and recipe steps 🙂 N x
Rross says
Made these this morning, I think I have finally found my go to cinnamon rolls recipe!!! Was really easy to follow and because I hate kneading I loved the no knead factor. Thanks so much for sharing.
Nagi says
Hi praise!!! Thanks so much for the feedback Rross, so glad you enjoyed it! N xx
Meredith's says
That’s fantastic I’m going to try making the bread rolls
Nagi says
Hope you do Meredith! It is really terrific!! 🙂 N xx
Tim says
Out of the 4 sweets I made for my mates over the weekend, these scrolls encouraged the most involuntary ‘mmmmmmmm’ noises after eating! A lot easier than I imagined they’d be to make and it was a bit chilly in Perth, so the dryer trick was magic!
Thanks Nagi!
Nagi says
WOAH! What a compliment!!! Glad to hear it’s chilly over there too, I always think of Perth as being much warmer than over here in winter!
Amy P says
Have just made these and they are AMAZING! And your dryer trick- how did you even think of that?! I can not wait to try some savoury options. Would love to know the best way to store them so they last as long as possible?
Nagi says
I fleetingly saw it on Pinterest and then googled and saw it was a done thing! 🙂 Airtight container is best, but in all honesty, all homemade breads dry out a bit the next day so it’s just best to reheat 🙂 N xx
Charlie says
I made these yesterday. I am at 4100ft elevation in the desert in AZ. I was able to follow the recipe exactly. They were very yummy and delicious. They were so easy to make. Thank you so much.
Nagi says
Woah! Charlie, thank you for sharing that, I will update the recipe notes to share your experience! N xx
Charlie says
I am ashamed to say that the cinamon rolls were gone in 24 hours with only 2 people eating. They were so good.
I have since made the rolls filled with cream cheese which was a hit too. Those are gone too. What can I say we are gluten addicts here. Lol
Oh. Because my dryer is located in the bathroom I could not use that trick. I instead put it in the microwave with the surface light on below and it rose to triple in an hour.
Nagi says
Ashamed? There is no being ashamed around here! 😂 So fantastic to hear you enjoyed these, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Helen says
Hi Nagi, I made this cinnamon rolls yesterday, so fluffy and tasty, looks a bit ugly but it so good, even today still fluffy and fresh. My husband gave me an idea to put crush apple on top. Or my other idea is to change cinnamon sugar with coffee butter. Will let you know the result.
Thank you!!
Nagi says
WOW! I love your ideas Helen, do let me know! N xx
Jamieanne says
I already have my go-to cinnamon roll recipe, but I had to give your no-knead recipe a go, of course! I made your recipe yesterday and had some extra children over after school and they all loved them, even the pickiest ones! Your recipes are always winners, Nagi! How do you do it!!! ☺️
Nagi says
I’m so flattered Jamieanne! Thank you for trying my recipe and I’m s glad you enjoyed it! N xx
Lani says
I saw comment about using a dryer. The only dryers i have are hair and clothes. What dryer are you speaking of and how does it help. Can’t wait to try this recipe. They look amazing!!!
Nagi says
Clothes dryer!! It works every time. Please see the note about rising! N xx
Kimberly @ Berly's Kitchen says
I could easily eat the entire batch of these and not think twice. Seriously, who doesn’t love freshly baked cinnamon rolls, especially when they’re no knead? These look so yummy!! Hoping to try them soon, like, over the weekend. 🙂
Nagi says
I hear you Kimberly. What is it with Cinnamon Rolls???
Char says
OMG!! These are a slice of heaven! I made these today and am just blown away! They are so light and fluffy and freaking DELICIOUS!!! I followed your directions exactly. I used a stoneware baking dish, so they needed to bake about 10 minutes longer than your directions. This is my new go to recipe. Thank you for all the testing. This is a keeper!
Nagi says
Yes YES YES!!!!!!!!! ❤️