Vienna bread

Vienna bread is a family of soft, white breads and sweet rolls with a thin, glossy crust, developed in Vienna in the mid-nineteenth century. Its significance lies in having changed European taste in bread, moving away from sour, coarse loaves toward light, mildly sweet ones.

History

The Vienna process took shape around 1846, when bakers began using brewer's yeast in sweet doughs and, soon after, cereal press-yeast. Bakeries used finely milled hard wheat flour, processed through a mix of stone and steel-roller mills, a method that spread to Hungary, Saxony and Bohemia. Baking with steam, which delayed crust formation, completed the technique.

International fame came in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1837 the Austrian army officer August Zang opened a Viennese bakery in Paris that helped introduce Vienna bread and the kipferl to France, and the Paris (1867) and Vienna (1873) world exhibitions boosted its reputation. In 1875 the American scientist Eben Norton Horsford published a detailed report on the bread, which helped spread its fame. From Spain to Argentina and Uruguay, the model inspired many local variants.

Culture

The term Vienna bread covers wheat, rye and mixed loaves, individual rolls such as the Kaisersemmel, and many sweet products made mainly from wheat flour. In its modern form it is often a soft-crumbed loaf with a glossy crust, containing sugar, milk and sometimes butter. Its influence can be seen in the French baguette viennoise and in the concept of viennoiserie, a term for rolls and buns usually made with laminated dough. In countries such as Spain, Uruguay and Argentina, sweet breads and pastries are directly related to this tradition, which remains part of everyday bakery life.