Vienna Bread

Submitted by: jej
Last Updated: 9/3/2008

• VIENNA BREAD

• This recipe comes from "A World of Breads" (1966) by Dolores Casella. She writes, 'This is the real thing, and worth every bit of the time and trouble it takes.' I halved the recipe and used my bread machine through the dough stage, and it took almost no 'time and trouble.'

• Casella's writings and recipes on breadmaking have been published in Gourmet, House Beautiful, Sunset Magazine, and Woman's Day. I love using her recipes, and have yet to find one that "doesn't work."

• 2 cakes yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 8 cups flour

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. When dissolved, add the cold water to the scalded milk and stir into the yeast mixture. Sift the salt with the flour and gradually stir this into the milk-yeast mixture. Knead well on a lightly floured board for about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down and turn out again onto a lightly floured board. Knead again for 5 minutes. Now shape the dough into 2 long or round loaves and place them on buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Make gashes in the top with a sharp knife, as for French Bread. Cover and let rise again until doubled. Brush with egg-white glaze and bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 F. and bake for 50 minutes longer. Remove from oven, brush again with glaze, and return to oven for another 30 minutes. It is this long, long baking that gives the bread its distinctive flavor and crisp crust.

• ***My Notes:

• 1. My bread machine will only make 1/2 of this recipe.

• 2. I have only used compressed yeast, as of yet. One of these days I'll substitute dry yeast.

• 3. I put all of the ingredients in the bread machine in the order of machine directions.

• 4. The 5-minute kneading was part of my 'shaping' process.

• 5. I made a long loaf, and it looked just like the bakery variety.

• 6. For us, it doesn't need quite such a long, long baking. It produces a very, very crusty loaf.

• 7. Wonderful with soup and pasta; also for toast, toasted cheese sandwiches, crumbs, etc.!!

• Hear, Hear!!! dachshundlady made this recipe into ROLLS, and had this to say:

• "I just pulled your Vienna Rolls out of the oven and are they ever lovely. It is a much stiffer dough than moomies. I sprinkled on some sesame seeds after the egg white. I baked them 8 minutes at 450 and 7 minutes at 350. Can't wait to try them with the pulled pork."