No Cold Crashing

Ok..I've been looking for some time with the search function and haven't been able to figure out what I am looking for. My brain is pretty much fried from having a new baby in the house, so I'm sure it's there but I just can't find it.

Do I need to cold crash if what I'm looking for is still, dry cider?

I'm planning on using something like 5 gallons of pasteurized juice, a couple of pounds of cane sugar, maybe a can or two of apple juice concentrate, and a packet of Cooper's yeast.

Can I just do this like beer, minus the bottle carbing? IE, ferment, take hydrometer readings till it's ceased, bottle and age? I'm afraid of exploding bottles, and I'm afraid of undrinkable cider. Otherwise, I'll be good with however it turns out.

BonnieJ said:

Can I just do this like beer, minus the bottle carbing? IE, ferment, take hydrometer readings till it's ceased, bottle and age? I'm afraid of exploding bottles, and I'm afraid of undrinkable cider. Otherwise, I'll be good with however it turns out.

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yep! it will of course benefit from a good few months aging (in primary or secondary or bottles), and you may wish to give it time to clear before bottling but you won't get bombs if it's fermented dry. also most beer people want to 'do a boil' when they first make cider- avoid this temptation!!

if it comes out not quite to your liking, put the bottles away for 6-12 months and taste again

forgot to add- cold crashing is, as you suspect, completely unnecessary for your strategy!
it would likely help clear the cider quickly before bottling but time will take care of that just as well. if you bottle cloudy then it will clear in the bottle and you will just have to avoid a little sediment in the bottles, no problem especially with still cider