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Vienna Bread
Required, two pounds of Vienna flour, two ounces of butter, one ounce of yeast, a teaspoonful of salt, the same of white sugar, and a pint of tepid milk. Rub the butter in the flour, and mix the other ingredients, except the salt, in a separate basin, the yeast and sugar being first rubbed together. Then mix them with the flour, add the salt, and work to a dough. Cover, and in two hours make into fancy-shaped rolls, twists, plaits, rings, etc. Put them on a baking-tin, and throw a thin cloth over; then set them over a pan of boiling water for ten minutes, bake in a sharp oven, and as soon as done glaze them, or brush them over with beaten egg before baking. For richer bread, an egg to each pound of flour is added. Probable cost, 1s.
A straightforward enriched roll dough; the only unfamiliar steps are the imperial measures and the trick of proving the shaped rolls over boiling water. Read the yeast conversion before you start.
- Vienna flourA finely milled, strong wheat flour associated with Austro-Hungarian milling, prized for its gluten. Modern bread flour (12-13% protein) is the right substitute; all-purpose will work but gives a softer, less springy crumb.
- Yeast quantityOne ounce means fresh compressed yeast, roughly 28 g. That is about 7-9 g (some 2 1/4 to 3 teaspoons) of instant dried yeast for 2 lb flour. Using an ounce of dried yeast would overproof the dough badly.
- Why the salt goes in lastSalt in direct contact with the yeast-and-sugar paste slows fermentation, which is why the recipe holds it back until the flour and liquid are combined. Once the dough is coming together the order no longer matters.
- A pint of milkAn imperial pint is 20 fl oz, about 2 1/2 US cups. Tepid means around blood heat; milk much hotter than that (above roughly 120F) will start to kill the yeast. Hold back a little and add as needed, since flour absorbency varies.
- Over a pan of boiling waterThis is a steam prove: the damp cloth and rising vapour keep the shaped rolls from skinning over and give the fast final rise that makes Vienna rolls light. Ten minutes is short for modern yeast strengths at room temperature; go by the dough, which should look visibly puffed and feel slack to the touch, and allow 20-30 minutes if your kitchen is cool.
- A sharp oven425-450F (220-230C). Small rolls take 12-18 minutes at that heat. A tray of water on the oven floor for the first few minutes gives the thin, crisp, glossy crust these rolls are known for.
- GlazingEgg wash before baking gives the deeper shine; the alternative 'glaze as soon as done' means brushing the hot rolls, traditionally with milk, water or thin sugar syrup, for a lighter gloss. The recipe offers these as alternatives, so choose one.
- YieldTwo pounds of flour makes about 16 to 20 rolls of ordinary size. The dough is firm enough to shape into twists, plaits and rings without slumping; keep the pieces even so they bake at the same rate.
- The richer versionAdding one egg per pound of flour will probably mean holding back some of the milk, very roughly 2 fl oz per egg, or the dough may be too wet to plait.
Vienna bread and Vienna rolls were among the most imitated baked goods of the later nineteenth century, largely because of the Austrian bakers' displays at the great international exhibitions of the 1860s and 70s, which introduced British and American bakers to a lighter, steam-baked, crisp-crusted loaf made from strong Hungarian flour and pressed yeast rather than a sourdough or barm ferment. The "probable cost, 1s." is typical of the book's habit of pricing every dish, a reminder that its readers were often instructing servants and needed to know what the ingredients should come to.