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?
I absolutely cannot cook baked goods…. until I met Nagi!
My seven year old: ‘This is HEAVEN ‘.
Enough said!
if I were to add cinnamon sugar and let the prepared rolls sit in the fridge overnight for baking in the morning, will that work? I’m not sure if that will over proof the rolls ?
Hi CSH, refrigeration slows down the final proof – that should work fine here 🙂 N x
Oh my gosh I’m instantly regretting finding this recipe…. I spent an hour in the gym while I waited for these to cool so I could ice them; I just inhaled two large buns for ‘lunch’ and my body is not going to thank me for it. They are INSANELY good. They are pillowy soft and the cinnamon filling is oh so good and that cream cheese frosting….!! I sprinkled a tiny bit of desiccated coconut on top, they are better than anything I’ve ever had at any bakery and I’m now fearful these are going to be a staple food at my house.
Love these but the mix was still very soft when I came to roll it up. Should I have added even more flour? I seemed to add loads to make it not sticky!
Hi Emma, try using the metric measurements when make in this – that way the measurements are exact and you’ll definitely get he texture you need. N x
Thanks for your reply! I struggled with the soft dough but the buns were fantastic! Love your recipes!
Hi Nagi!
My partner made these this past Friday and we added Thompson raisins and diced dried apple rings to the mix. When he took them out of the oven, he declared “Beasts!” as they were massive but those in the middle got squooshed and could barely grow!
These will be a repeat recipe!
Thanks,
Darrin
These look so good. Do you think you could spread Vegemite and grated cheese to make cheesymite scrolls using the same dough?
Yes 100%!!! I’ve done it before – they are amazing! N x
Amazing! Great recipe Nagi!
These worked a treat. I’ve tried a few scroll recipes now, including a couple from some pretty fancy websites, and these are so much better.
Been craving a good cinnamon scroll and these hit the spot. Easy to make, soft, fluffy, cinnamony goodness. Yum!
Oohh I would love to try this recipe. My son is allergic to eggs though. Any tips for making this without eggs.
Hi Nagi,
I was wondering for people who can’t have dairy, what would your recommendations be on tweaking the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Nagi,
My very first making yeast bread and tried this no knead cinnamon roll recipe and they turned out great and everyone loved them. Thank you!
You’re so welcome Lina, that’s awesome to hear! N x
First time making cinnamon buns, this was sooo easy and deliciy! Thank you so much Nagi for the recipe 🙂 Can’t wait to try everything!
Hi Nagi!
I’m planning to make these for a children’s birthday party.
Do you think I could make them a smaller size? Say shape the log out longer and cut 24 pieces out of the same portions?
Any recommendations on baking a change in baking time?
Thanks!
Yeah yeah yeah !
Hi Murdoch!
Have you done this?
Or are you looking for the same answers too? 🙂
This looks so good! Would this work with gluten free flour?
Unfortunately they don’t rise as well with Gluten Free flour Kristle. N x
1st time making cinnamon rolls in about 40 years but these turned out great. I have made your crusty bread and Flatbread recipes and they are very good also. The Flatbread recipe is now my goto for pizza dough. I am not the greatest baker but your recipes explain very well.
Hi Nagi, can you do this without the sugar to make pizza or vegemite ones?
Nagi, I made a half batch over Christmas and they turned out perfectly!
Today I tried making a full batch and the dough wasn’t smooth. It was kind of dry, as I had a hard time incorporating all of the flour, and it didn’t noticeably rise. My yeast activated. This happened to me when I tried a cinnamon roll recipe from someone else also. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Thanks!
If I could post pics here I would – mine turned out so pretty! They were uneven, not uniform in size but yet, so drool worthy. I halved the sugar in the dough and the cinnamon sugar; perfect to my taste. Thanks again for a winner Nagi
Hi Nagi, I intend to bring them to a dinner party tomorrow night. I forgot to read the footnote about prepping this in advance and have already baked them. How should I store and warm them up to avoid them drying out?