The bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes is Vienna Bread. Vienna bread is a type of bread developed in Vienna, Austria in the 19th century.
The shape of Vienna Bread is determined by the baker, based on the intended function of the loaf. It can be formed into batards, torpedo rolls (pistolets) or a sandwich loaf. It is typically twelve inches long and weighs one pound. Some of the BBB bakers chose to make loaves and some made rolls or pistolets.
This particular version, from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, is made with a Pâte Fermentée.
I made Vienna Bread last year during the BBA Challenge, but I didn’t care too much for the Dutch crunch topping. So this time, I baked it in a loaf pan and omitted the Dutch crunch topping.
Although this one looks like a glorified white sandwich loaf, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. It may be a little humble-looking compared to the version I made last time, but it makes for good toast and holds up really well as a tuna sandwich.
Here is a photo of the previous version. You can view the process here. It was a very pretty loaf, but I thought the flavor was a bit lacking. My taste tester said it tasted dusty. I must’ve used too much flour in the Dutch crunch topping. It probably deserves another chance sometime.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
I want to bake this bread as a sandwich loaf. How did you adjust quantities and or baking for a loaf pan?
Hi Kevin, I didn’t make any adjustments for the sandwich loaf. I just shaped it into a loaf and baked it in the loaf pan. The formula in the book makes 2 pounds of dough.
Peter Reinhart mentions in his notes on this particular bread that it can be baked as a batard, torpedo rolls (pistolets) or in a loaf pan for sandwich bread.