Kipferl

Kipferl, also called kifli, is a crescent-shaped yeast bread roll that is common across central and eastern Europe. It can be savoury or sweet, and in Austria it is closely associated with breakfast and coffee breaks.

History

The name comes from the Austrian German kipferl, and the Hungarian form kifli was first recorded in 1785. Kipferl are documented in Austria as early as 1227, when they appear as chipfen in Babenberg-ruled Vienna. In the seventeenth century the monk Abraham a Sancta Clara described crescent-shaped rolls in several forms, long, short, curved and straight.

The crescent shape is often linked to ancient symbolism, though the link is uncertain. It is believed that monasteries made these rolls for Easter, although the evidence is not conclusive. Over time the roll spread to Hungary, the Balkans, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, where it took local names such as rohlík, rožok and rogal.

Traditionally, soft yeast dough is cut into triangular wedges, rolled and baked. Unlike the French croissant, kipferl is made from a plain bread dough and is thinner and longer. Commercially, the dough is cut, shaped and rolled by machines.

Culture

Kipferl is eaten on its own, with butter and cold cuts or cheese, or with jam or honey, usually alongside coffee, hot chocolate or milk. It is especially associated with breakfast and coffee breaks in Vienna. Richer versions, made with butter or milk, are sweeter and suit jam or honey.

Sweet kipferl differ from the bread roll: the Vanillekipferl is a small, very short, tender cookie made with ground nuts instead of flour. Filled sweet rolls, known as diós, mákos or lekváros kifli, usually contain walnut, poppy seed or plum or apricot lekvar. The Bratislava rožok, a walnut or poppy-filled pastry, is a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed product in the European Union.

Trivia