Wiener Frühstück
A Vienna coffeehouse breakfast: crusty Kaisersemmel with butter and apricot jam, a soft-boiled egg and a Melange, with a recipe for the rolls from scratch.
- prep
- 2 h 30 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total
- 2 h 55 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
The Wiener Frühstück is the standard breakfast on a Viennese coffeehouse menu: a coffee (often a Melange), a Semmel, butter, jam and a soft-boiled egg. Apricot jam, Marillenmarmelade, is the usual choice. The roll most linked with it is the Kaisersemmel, a crisp wheat roll with a five-part pattern pressed into the top.
A good Semmel has a thin, crackling crust and a light, open crumb, and both come from a hot oven and steam in the first minutes. For the egg, timing is everything: about 5 minutes 30 seconds in boiling water for a large egg from the refrigerator gives a set white and a yolk that runs.
Wiener Frühstück is one of the best breakfasts from around the world.
method
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the water and 20 g soft butter, and knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise 1 hour, until doubled.
Divide into 8 pieces of about 95 g, roll each into a ball and rest them seam side down for 15 minutes, covered.
Flatten each ball slightly and press a Kaiser roll stamp (Semmelstempel) firmly into the top, down to about 5 mm from the bottom, to cut it into five segments. Place the rolls pattern side up on parchment-lined trays and proof 30 to 40 minutes.
Heat the oven to 230°C (445°F) with a sturdy metal tray on the bottom rack.
Slide the rolls in, pour 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water into the hot tray and close the door. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp, then cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
Boil the eggs: bring a small pan of water to a full boil, lower the eggs in with a spoon and cook 5 minutes 30 seconds. Move them to cold water for 30 seconds, then stand them in egg cups and tap the tops off.
Make the Melange: pull an espresso shot into each of 4 large cups, steam about 75 ml milk per cup to about 65°C (150°F) with a thin layer of foam, and pour it over the coffee.
Serve each person a roll with butter and jam on the side, an egg and a Melange. Split the roll and butter it generously.
chef's tips
- No stamp: use a bench scraper to press five lines radiating from the center nearly to the bottom. It looks a little different but bakes the same.
- Eggs straight from the refrigerator cook more predictably than room-temperature ones. Use a timer.
- The rolls freeze well. Bake and cool them, freeze, then refresh at 180°C (350°F) for 8 minutes.