page_title: Kaiser roll
section_title: Origin
hierarchical_section_title: Kaiser roll / Origin
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Werkstatt des Hofmalers Martin van Meytens: Hoftafel in der Großen Antecamera der Hofburg, Ölgemälde, nach 1760, mit Kaisersemmel, befindet sich in Schloss Schönbrunn,Ausschnitt
context_page_description: The Kaiser roll, also called a Vienna roll or a hard roll, is a typically crusty round bread roll, originally from Austria. It is made from white flour, yeast, malt, water and salt, with the top side usually divided in a symmetric pattern of five segments, separated by curved superficial cuts radiating from the centre outwards or folded in a series of overlapping lobes resembling a crown. The crisp Kaisersemmel is a traditional Austrian food officially approved by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
  Semmel is the common name for any kind of roll in Austria and the German state of Bavaria, equivalent to Brötchen in Northern Germany or Weck / Weckle in Baden-Württemberg.
context_section_description: Kaiser rolls have existed in a recognizable form since at least 1760.  They are thought to have been named to honor Emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I of Austria (born 1830, reigned 1848–1916). In the 18th century a law fixed retail prices of Semmeln (bread rolls) in the Habsburg Monarchy. Allegedly, the name Kaisersemmel came into general use after the bakers' guild sent a delegation in 1789 to Emperor Joseph II (b. 1741, r. 1765–1790) and convinced him to deregulate the price of bread rolls.
  With its monarchical connotation, Kaiser rolls stood out against common rolls known as Mundsemmeln ("mouth rolls") or Schustersemmeln ("cobbler's rolls"). They are traditionally found in Austria, but have also become popular in other countries of the former Austrian Habsburg Empire, such as the Galicia region in Poland (where it is known as kajzerka), Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia (kajzerica), Hungary (császárzsemle), the Czech Republic (kaiserka), as well as in Germany, the United States, and Canada. During Austrian rule in Lombardy, Italian bakers produced a hollow version known as michetta or rosetta.
caption: Kaiser rolls at a court banquet of Maria Theresa about 1760, detail from a painting by Martin van Meytens
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