You really can't go wrong with this very easy No Knead Hot Cross Buns recipe this Easter. . It's virtually foolproof with no kneading involved at all!
Ever made your own Hot Cross Buns at Easter? Think it's difficult?
Well, think again, because you are about to make No Knead Hot Cross Buns like a boss!
And if you are already a bit of a Hot Cross bun boss, give my more traditional Vegan Hot Cross Buns a try!
If you have made my Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread then you will know just how good no knead bread can be. That recipe is so popular and everyone who tries it loves it. Same goes for my No Knead Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread.
They were both adapted from this No Knead Hot Cross Buns recipe and they are all as easy as each other.
Making the Hot Cross Bun dough is basically the same with the addition of some dried fruit, spices and nuts and you get amazing Hot Cross Buns at the end of it as a reward
How to make No Knead Hot Cross Buns
For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card.
There are just a few steps involved in the making of these No Knead Hot Cross Buns and most of them will be you stepping away during all of the hands off time where you do not have to do a single thing.
Let's break it down:
- Step 1 - Toast the nuts (this is optional - you don't have to use the nuts)
- Step 2 - Throw everything in one bowl and mix with a wooden spoon
- Step 3 - Cover the bowl with a damp dishtowel and walk away and don't come back for 4 - 8 hours. It will be fine for anything between those times. You do not need to babysit it.
- Step 4 - Come back. Turn out onto a clean floured surface and cut into 10 even pieces then shape into balls and put on a baking sheet then cover with the towel again. Make a drink and go put your feet up for 30 minutes....
- Step 5 - Mix up the flour and water in a small bowl, add to a piping bag and pipe crosses on the top of each bun, then bake.
- Step 6 - Brush with the glaze then cool.
I'll forgive you if you eat one at this stage.
The smell in your house while they bake will be unbelievable and when they are done, the No Knead Hot Cross Buns will be golden, shiny, soft and fluffy.
And you? You will be pleased as punch with yourself and fighting the urge to eat the whole batch warm and slathered in my Easy Vegan Butter. That's it in the pics above and if you haven't made it yet this is the perfect opportunity. It takes no time at all and is the perfect accompaniment.
I hope you have a lovely Easter, full of happy baking.
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No Knead Hot Cross Buns
Author:Ingredients
For the buns
- 50g / ⅓ cup whole hazelnuts (OPTIONAL) , roughly chopped into large pieces, (optional but they add great texture and flavour)
- 500g / 4 cups all purpose white flour or bread flour , in the UK use strong flour
- 2½ teaspoons instant or quick yeast , sometimes labelled fast yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamon (OPTIONAL but adds a nice flavour)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 265g / 1½ cups mixed dried fruit , such as golden raisins, sultanas, cranberries, chopped dried apricot.
- 1 lemon Zested
- 1 orange Zested
- 80mls / ⅓ cup oil of choice , melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter are ok too but they MUST be at room temperature and not hot when added
- 240mls / 1 cup unsweetened milk of choice
- 180mls / ¾ cup water
For the crosses
- 5 tablespoons all purpose white flour
- enough water to make a thick pipe-able paste
For the glaze
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
IF USING HAZELNUTS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pour the raw hazelnuts onto a baking tray and roast for about 10 mins. Shake the pan after 5 mins and keep an eye on them as they can burn fast. Remove them from the oven and let cool.
FOR THE HOT CROSS BUNS
- In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, spices, salt and sugar and mix together well. Then add the fruit, cooled nuts and zest.
- Add the oil to the milk, stir, then pour into the bowl with the other ingredients. Then add the water and stir really well with a spoon until everything is combined and there is no dry flour visible. It will be a sticky lumpy looking mess. That's fine.
- Cover with cling wrap, a plastic bag or a new/clean shower cap and leave on the kitchen counter for a minimum of 7 hours and a maximum of 9 hours. Do not refrigerate and do not leave anywhere really warm. Just normal room temperature is fine.If the temperature in your house is consistently above 22 ° C (71 °F) then just leave it for 5 hours.
- After the time has elapsed the dough will be swollen and puffy. Dust a clean, dry, work surface with some flour and turn out the dough onto it making sure you scrape the bowl out well. Try not to tear the dough as it will damage the structure that has developed. It will be sticky but that is normal.
- Dust the top of the dough with some flour and form it into a rough round then cut into 10 pieces.
- Shape each piece into a smooth ball using floured hands. I do this by having the ball of dough on the surface in front of me and using my hands to pull down all around, squeezing it tight underneath. Place the buns gently on a lightly floured, or parchment lined baking sheet. Have them so they all gently touch each other.
- Cover with the damp dish towel (run it under the tap then wring it out) and leave for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400 °F (200°C)
- After 30 minutes has passed, make the flour and water paste for the crosses. Just add enough water to the 5 tablespoons of flour to make a thick pipe-able paste. Remove the towel from the buns, fill a piping bag or piping syringe ( or a ziplock bag with a nip in one corner) with the paste and pipe a cross shape on each bun.
- Place the buns in the preheated oven and bake for around 20 minutes. Once done they should be starting to turn golden and if you tap one on it's bottom it should sound hollow.
- Remove from the oven and immediately mix up the glaze. 2 tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir until the sugar dissolves then brush the top of each bun generously.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and be sure to eat one while it's hot!
NOTES
Oil-Free - It is possible to make these hot cross buns without the oil if you wish but bear in mind that the oil gives a softer, fluffier crumb. The oil acts a bit like a preservative too and if you omit it the hot cross buns will go stale much more quickly. If you know you will be eating them quickly then this won't be a problem. If you won't eat them so quickly and you omit the oil, I would advise freezing them and just removing from the freezer as you need them. If you do omit the oil, add an extra 60mls of water to replace some of the lost liquid.
Storage - Leftover buns freeze well for up to 3 months.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Kay says
Amaaaazing! I roasted the hazelnuts in the air fryer, used 20% spelt and 80% baker’s flour, next time will try more spelt/wholemeal/rye and try using my sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast. I made apple sauce to replace all of the oil (oops,only just saw your note about oil!) and will sweeten with date paste next time or leave sugar out.....oh, I also left the dough out on the (really cold Adelaide Winter) bench for about four hours, then put in the fridge and brought out for a few hours before shaping and baking...ridiculously good!
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed them! A sourdough version will be amazing!
Hazel Hanna says
Just found your website! Very e cited to try your recipes and will give feedback! The cinnamon pull and hot cross buns sound delicious!
Thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
I hope you enjoy them Hazel!
Shivana says
Hey I'm really interested in trying this recipe but I noticed there's no baking powder/baking soda. Was that intentional or was it omitted accidentally? Kind regards!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hot Cross Buns are basically a sweet bread recipe so they use yeast and not baking powder or baking soda.
Shivana says
Thanks!
Lily says
I made these this week and my family absolutely loved them! The mixture took five minutes to whip together and I put in a random array of dried fruit and nuts (cranberries, dates, prunes, desiccated coconut and brazil nuts). I accidentally left the mixture for nine hours but it turned out fine, I just dolloped it on to a baking tray and went for it. I was too lazy to do the crosses! They're fabulous both toasted and untoasted. I'm not sure how long they last in reality as we ate them all in a few days! Thanks so much for this easy recipe, we'll definitely be making them again.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying the recipe! You managed to test how long they last better than us. Ours are always gone the same day! ?
Sefi says
Hi there, I could not get eggs and butter from any grocery stores around me and I always make hot cross buns for my family every year. I did nit want the current situation to change that and so I googled no butter, no egg easter baking recipes and yours was one of those that came up with 5 stars. I read the recipe and told myself this is definitely one to try.
Well, can I just say this is the best recipe I have ever made. It will be my go to recipe henceforth. We love it. We loaded it with dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins and 70% dark chocolate and the zest of two very large very fragrant oranges and it turned out beautifully. Thank you for such a lovely recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome! I'm really pleased you are enjoying the recipe so much. Thank you for coming back to leave a comment/review too. It's much appreciated. Happy Easter to you and your family!
Maria says
hello, I just wanted to add that I had the dough resting covered under a closed window in my kitchen from midnight to 8 am next day, the dough had doubled in size and had bubble so it was perfect. So this can be done overnight if is still 8 hours and there is a cool kitchen where the dough can rest. It was way better than waking up 3 hours before breakfast or heating up day old buns. they were fluffy, soft, and delicious!
Maria says
I made this last night and baked them this morning. They were soooo goood!!! I doubled the recipe and still was great. I had to change almonds for hazelnuts and crystallized fruit for dried fruit, it would have been better with dried fruit, but besides that they were easy to make and delicious! Have you tried this with gluten free flour? I would try this next time for the ones in my family that are gluten free. Thanks for making our Easter Sunday breakfast so special. I had bough store made hot cross buns but felt bad about not having the real thing when I found your recipe and saw that I did not need to be in the kitchen for hours for this to work.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great Maria. I'm so glad you enjoyed them. The great thing about the recipe is that the add-ins are pretty flexible. My son likes them with chocolate chips instead of the fruit!
I haven't tried them with gluten-free flour. I have a feeling they wouldn't work that well because they need that gluten development. With some adaptions though they would probably be ok. I haven't really ventured into gluten free bread baking though so it would be a case of trial and error on my part!
Celine says
Never tried hot cross buns before, so I can’t compare from the originals, but I just made those ones: and I love it!!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Love that these are your first ever Hot Cross Buns and that you loved them! Thank you for stopping by to let me know!
Noah says
I was wandering if you could make the buns the night before and bake them for 30 minutes in the morning. However, I don't know if the buns could wait that long to be baked. My plan was to start at 14.00 hours and then make buns around 22.00 hours and (if possible) to bake them the day after around 8 a.m.
I hope you could help me
A Virtual Vegan says
I think if you leave them that long they will over prove and you won’t get a good finished result. You can slow the whole process down by rising the dough or the shaped buns in the fridge rather than on the counter top but even then once they were shaped it might be too long. You could probably get away with making the dough at 14.00 then putting it in the fridge until the next morning then continuing from there to shape and bake. If the dough is cold, once shaped they will take a little longer to rise because the yeast will be sleepy until the dough warms up again. Not too much longer though.
Fran says
Just took a batch of these out of the oven. They are a amazing!! I just ate one and burned my tongue because they looked so good and I couldn’t wait.
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha Fran, that's funny. So glad you like them. I end up eating them while hot too. So good! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Annie says
Hi, can I substitute a little of the flour for cocoa and add choc chips instead of fruit? It looks like it should work. And who doesn’t love choc chip hot cross buns?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried doing this so am not sure how well it would work.There is a chance that the cocoa would impede the yeast development but I guess it depends how much is added. Some extra yeast or sugar might be necessary to give it a boost, or it might just need a little extra time. I would need to try it to know for sure. If you were to just switch the fruit for chocolate chips and not add cocoa it would definitely be ok though. I guess it depends whether you want to risk it or not. I will add chocolate hot cross buns to my list for next Easter though!
Annie says
Thanks. I might give it a try this weekend, but only adding a tablespoon of cocoa just for colour. I’ll let you know if they work?
help says
How much water do i put in the mixture?!!! it doesnt say...
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh my goodness...I'm sorry. 180mls or 3/4 cup. It's added now!
Nikki says
Sunday 6/25/17
OMGosh I am in heaven this morning. Just downed one hot out the oven and it was delicious!!! I made this recipe minus the orange peel I didn't have any oranges on hand, swapped the nuts for dates because in my home country we use raisins and dates and omitted the cranberries. This is my go-to for hot cross buns.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Nikki! I am so glad you enjoyed them. I don't blame you for eating one right from the oven. They are pretty hard to resist! Thanks so much for stopping to leave feedback. I appreciate it!
Beth says
They were delicious although I did not get the right consistency, more like a scone than a bun. So much better than store bought..
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad they tasted good. Sorry the texture wasn't quite right though. Did you use all purpose flour or perhaps a different kind? And did you add much flour when you were folding the dough? If you did it can affect the texture. The less flour you use when you do that bit the better. Another thing that could affect it is yeast that is past it's best. Just a few ideas that might help improve them if you make them another time. :)
Dana says
Is it possible to use a mixer with a dough hook and letting it rise for an hour instead of overnight?
A Virtual Vegan says
It is possible and I sometimes do that myself. Everything stays the same except you need to reduce the water to about 330 - 340 mls.
Dana says
Is it okay to use other types of oil such as vegetable oil instead of coconut oil ?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes any oil will be fine as a sub, just steer clear of strong tasting ones like extra virgin olive oil.
nicolthepickle says
I was searching pinterest for a no-knead bread for lunch and these came up serendipitously. They were good. I didn't find them to be quite as nice a texture as regular ones as I love the soft, tight crumb of a regular one.
But for ease of making I would definitely make these again.
I only used 1 tsp of yeast because leaving it overnight is long enough for it to start growing it's own natural yeast off of the commercial yeast.
Thanks for the recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
I am so pleased you enjoyed them. No knead bread is never quite as soft and fluffy as a really well kneaded dough but like you say, it's great when you are pushed for time or need an easy option. Adding only 1 teaspoon of yeast might well have made a difference this time though. When I trialled the recipe I started with around that much and got much better results when I used more. Use a bit more next time you make them and you will probably notice a difference.
nicolthepickle says
Haha, it drives me nuts when people comment with their opinions and didn't even follow the recipe. Like I just did. Sorry. I should do it right. :P
This is a little off topic but not entirely Peter Reinhart in his sourdough book talks about starting sourdoughs with the water used to rinse of raisins because they have dried wild yeasts in them. I wonder if it makes a difference to put dried fruit into a 12-24 hour bread.
A Virtual Vegan says
I love Peter Reinhart's recipes and have my own sourdough starter. I made mine with a grated apple. I love the idea of using raisins to make a starter. You would need to be really careful about what raisins you used though as I would imagine those with oil and other ingredients in them wouldn't work too well. I find it increasingly difficult these days to find dried fruit that just has the fruit as an ingredient and not other things like oil and preservatives too.
It probably makes a very slight difference when you add the fruit to a 12-24 bread because of the extra sugar in it but I expect yeast-wise, its pretty negligible. It tends to take a couple of days for any real yeasty action to happen in my experience.
Julie says
I got the dough ready last night and baked these this morning. They were perfect. My family loved them. Thank you for the recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you for taking the time to let me know Julie. I am glad that you and your family enjoyed them. Happy Easter!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! They are so soft and fluffy. I can't wait to make them again this weekend!