Vienna Bread Recipe

One buttery bite and you'll be obsessed with these easy, vintage dinner rolls! Next time try this 30 minute French bread.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• Soft and fluffy, buttery homemade rolls
• Freeze well
• You can let them rise overnight in the fridge

I love vintage recipes! These Vienna rolls are sometimes called pain viennois, Viennese bread, or finger rolls.

Whatever you call them they're delicious!

These pretty loaves are some of the best breads ever for French toast!

🧾 Ingredients

• Active dry yeast (but you can substitute instant yeast if you like.)
• All-purpose flour (but you can use bread flour if you prefer)
• Sugar
• Unsalted butter (some people prefer a little vegetable oil rather than butter)
• Milk (I used regular milk but you can use skim, low fat, or even dairy free if you like)
• Salt (I used Kosher so if you use regular table salt cut back by about ¼)
• Eggs
• Sesame seeds or poppy seeds as desired

🔪 Instructions

You can shape these in any shape you want - I just prefer the traditional finger rolls.

Step one

1. Warm water to 110F.
2. Place in a large mixing bowl.
3. Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in the water.

Step two

1. Set the yeast mixture aside until foamy.
2. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Step three

1. Add the milk and 3 cups of the flour.
2. Beat with a stand mixer for 10 minutes.
3. Cover and set aside in a warm place until light, puffy, and you can see air bubbles forming under the surface.
4. Beat one of the eggs and add it along with melted butter, salt, and remaining sugar.

Step four

1. Add the kneading hook to the mixer.
2. With the mixer running add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. The amount of flour used can vary - it's not exact.

Step five

1. Lightly flour a clean counter.
2. Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and knead by hand.
3. You can also continue to knead by machine for about 5-8 minutes.

Step six

1. Smooth the dough into a ball and rub the exterior with butter or oil.
2. Place in greased bowl and cover with a tea towel.

Step seven

1. Let rise for 1 hour or until the dough doubles.
2. You can tell it's doubled by inserting your finger into the dough gently. If the dent stays there it's doubled. If it springs back it's not.

Step eight

1. Punch the dough down.
2. For loaves; divide into two pieces. Roll into the shape of a baguette and pinch any seams together.
3. For rolls; divide it into 24 equal pieces. Roll into smaller loaves, traditionally cigar shape, sometimes called little pistoles.

Step nine

1. Preheat oven.
2. Place the rolls, seam side down, on a silpat or parchment covered baking sheet.
3. Slash diagonal cuts in the tops with a sharp knife.
4. Brush with the egg glaze. Use egg white and water for a crispy crust and egg yolk and water for a golden brown crust.
5. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.
6. Let rise 15 minutes.

Bake rolls on the middle rack of your oven at 375F-400F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Bread machine instructions

1. Make sure the water is at about 80F. Your other ingredients need to be at room temperature.
2. Put the ingredients in the pan in the order that it tells you to in your owner's manual.
3. Choose the basic cycle and normal crust.
4. When bread is done remove immediately and let cool before slicing.

You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

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• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Stand mixer
• Sharp knife (for slashing tops)
• Pastry brush
• Parchment or silpat
• Baking sheet

🥫 Storage

Store, tightly covered, at room temperature for a day or two or freeze for up to three months.

These are at their best the day they are made but warming them up for a few minutes in the microwave or oven will make them taste fresh again.

💭 Things to know

• Keep the dough temp at warm room temperature for best rising. The warmer it is the less time it will take.
• You can make these Vienna rolls the night before, shape, cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the refrigerator. Or make the loaves the same way.
• This bread freezes really well.
• Make sure the ingredients are all warm to the touch but not more than 110F.
• Breadbaking takes time to learn but it's SO much fun to practice!

• Use poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds.
• Sprinkle Vienna rolls crusts with a little sugar.
• Use for small tea sandwiches and appetizers.
• Shape Vienna bread into a large oblong loaves or braids.
• You can get a bread with a bit of "chew" by tossing a cup of cold water on the bottom of the oven and letting the Vienna rolls bake with steam heat. Moist heat makes bread chewy and dry heat keeps it crisper.

👩🏻‍🍳 Frequently asked questions

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

📚 Related recipes

I love making old fashioned breads and rolls! This Vienna bread is so good with soups, stews, and even pasta. Here are more of my favorite homemade bread recipes...

• Soft Potato Rolls recipe is from a vintage cookbook. I've made it so easy to make that there’s no reason not to have homemade dinner rolls often! They are so buttery, light, and airy that each bite fairly melts in your mouth. 
• Country Style Whole Wheat Rolls are tender, light, and buttery because of the buttermilk in the recipe. If you love the regular buttermilk dinner rolls but want more whole grains in your diet? This is the roll for you.
• Homemade Brown and Serve Rolls are easy to make and when you serve them steaming hot with butter melting into a golden pool…maybe a little wildflower honey… well dinner just got really special. Having them all ready in the freezer is pretty handy — and it makes you look good, too.
• 30 Minute Rolls take a little less than 30 minutes start to finish. 30 minutes, y’all. 

📞 The last word

When I was growing up every restaurant we ever went to served a napkin lined basket of small breads and finger rolls while you waited for your food (except one, they served apple fritters but THAT'S another story).

Usually they'd be hot and a fragrant steam would rise up from the basket when you opened up the napkin.

It was amazing.

My favorites were the finger shaped Vienna rolls, shiny crusted and sprinkled with sesame seeds - begging for a slather of yellow butter melting across the tender crumb.

You don't see them much any more - it's another of those recipes like cinnamon bread that has been forgotten.

If you've never worked with yeast dough before I suggest reading my complete guide to working with yeast doughs before you start this recipe. It has a ton of information that will make you an experienced baker in no time!

First published February 21, 2020. Last updated April 14, 2021 to include better instructions and bread machine instructions.