Recipe: Vienna Bread

Vienna Bread
recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-09-02
Posted to rec.food.cooking by Katie E Green
Source: A World of Bread

This is the real thing, and worth every bit of the time and trouble it takes.

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 450F oven for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350F 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 give the bread its distinctive flavor and crisp crust.