I last updated this recipe in April 2016, and since then, this recipe has garnered more than a million page views and is one of the most popular recipes on my blog.
Vienna Bread can be made in the shape of rolls or baguettes. It is softer than traditional European baguettes (i.e., Italian baguettes and French baguettes), and has a fine texture with tight crumbs and has a sweet taste. You can make delicious toasts, french toasts, grilled cheese sandwiches, or other sandwiches with your favorite filling. You can even serve Vienna Bread as a side with soup or toasted with pasta. My family loves toasted Vienna Bread with a spread of soft room temperature butter, and it gets over in no time. Its hard not to eat these beauties as soon as they come out of the oven. Trust me; they are simply irresistible.
Vienna bread is also known as Pain Viennois. You can check more details on this bread here. This bread is inspired by one of my favorite chefs of the real deal cooking channel. When preparing Vienna Bread, we add sugar to the dough that helps the crust brown faster. The addition of fat in the form of milk and butter helps to tenderize the dough and also results in a shortening of gluten strands. As a result, Vienna Bread ends up being very soft on the inside, despite having relatively tight crumbs.
Vienna Bread vs Brioche
I get a lot of questions asking me if Vienna Bread is similar to Brioche. The answer is NO. Brioche is a popular french bread that uses a similar set of ingredients as that of Vienna Bread, but the butter to flour ratio is significantly high making a Brioche similar to a pastry or a cake. Moreover, Brioche has an open crumb structure, similar to a honeycomb that you see in a croissant. Also, do not confuse the name of the bread with Viennese Bread, which essentially is a cream cheese Danish pastry.
How do I make a Vegan Vienna Bread?
Honestly, I have not tried preparing a Vegan Vienna Bread. If I were to try this version in the future, I would replace butter with vegan butter, milk with any non-diary milk, and brush the risen roll with a vegan egg wash. If you are unsure what a vegan egg wash is, then here is my version that I use for sweet (non-savory) recipes. One part of Agave nectar whisked with two parts of non-diary milk. The heat in the oven causes - (1) the sugars in the agave nectar to caramelize and give the bread its signature golden-brown crust (along with sugar in the dough), and (2) the proteins in the non-diary milk to breakdown and give the bread a shiny finish once the water content evaporates.
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Printable Detailed Recipe for Vienna Bread or Pain Viennois or Austrian Bread rolls or loaves or loafs
Recipe card
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Ingredients
1 packet Active dry yeast ( 2 ½ tsp) 2 tablespoon Sugar 1 ⅓ cup Fat free skim milk 1 ½ teaspoon Salt 3 ½ cup + 2 tablespoon All purpose flour 3 tablespoon Unsalted butter (softened) 1 Egg wash (beat an egg with pinch of salt)
Step I Step II Step III Step IV Step V
The amount of flour may vary depending on the brand of flour used and weather conditions or even the type of milk used in the recipe. You may substitute milk with water and milk powder in the recipe. Try not to add any flour during the kneading process. As you knead it for 8 to 10 minutes you will get a smooth soft dough.
