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Pain Viennois is normally made in the shape of a baguette, though the crust is softer than a baguette, the texture is finer, and the taste is sweeter. The loaves will have horizontal slashes on top, and be glazed with milk and sugar before baking.
It can also be made as rolls ("petits pains").
It is made starting with a Poolish.
History
Up until 1840, the French had always risen their bread with a starter, or later with a combination of starter and yeast. When the technique of using a Poolish instead of traditional French starters came along, it made possible faster bread production, and sweeter breads.
The story of how the Poolish technique came to Paris is a bit muddled, though ultimately it doesn't matter.
In 1840 an Austrian military officer was posted to Paris. His name was Zang (sic), he lived at 92, rue Richelieu. He brought with him his own bakers from Austria. They introduced Viennese style bread, risen with Poolish. Other versions disagree about whether Austrians were involved, and whether it happened at 92, rue Richelieu.
Some stories absurdly place the advent of Poolish at the time of Marie Antoinette, as she was Austrian, but the problem with those stories is that they're confusing the timeline: commercial yeast, required to make a Poolish from, wasn't available at the time.
Also called:  Pain viennois (French)
See Also
French Breads, Poolish
Other entries for Bread
Bagels, Baguettes, Biscuits, Boston Brown Bread, Bread Crumbs, Bread Improvers, Damper Dogs, Flat Breads, French Bread Law (1993), French Breads, Kalach Bread, Kalakukko Bread, Koulouri, Limpa Bread, Orindes, Pain au Froment, Pain au Levain, Pain au Son, Pain Complet, Pain d'habitant, Pain de Campagne, Pain de Mie, Pain Pavé, Pain Paysan, Pain Poilâne, Pain Viennois, Pretzels, Pullman Bread, Quick Breads, Quignon, Rusks, Sippets, Tartine, Toast, Toutons, Unleavened Bread, Utah Scones
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