Pain Viennoise (Viennese bread)

Star shaped pain viennois ready for proving

Pain Viennoise or Vienna Bread is a soft, slightly sweet white bread. This is a bit like a brioche in style. Read a bit of background on this dough.

In the bakery programme, we shaped the dough into a plaited star shape but you can easily make a baguette or loaf from this dough.

Ingredients

• 600g T45 flour (plain flour)
• 12g salt
• 30g fresh yeast (or 10g dried yeast)
• 60g butter, soft or melted
• 280g water
• 36g sugar
• 30g milk powder
• 72g eggs, beaten

Note – you can use 300g milk to replace the water and milk powder.

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water
2. Sieve together the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre
3. Mix in the yeast mixture, then eggs and butter
4. Knead until a smooth dough is formed (check the gluten window), about 5 minutes with a mixer
5. Leave to rise until it is doubled in size
6. Knock back and divide into whatever size pieces are needed & shape them
7. Prove until doubled in size
8. Bake for 20-25 min at 200˚C. Put a baking tray with some water in the bottom of the oven or add a couple of ice cubes to create steam during the first part of baking to help the bread rise further and colour the crust.

Here’s an example I made at home and shaped into a loaf.