Viennoiserie

The family of French breakfast pastries made from yeast doughs enriched with butter, eggs, milk or sugar, such as croissants, brioche and pain au chocolat.

Viennoiserie: An assortment of viennoiserie: a croissant, a pain au chocolat, a brioche and a pain aux raisins
  • Measurement, dietary and professional terminology
  • France

Viennoiserie sits between bread and pastry. The name means things in the Viennese style, after Viennese bakers who brought their rich breads and crescent rolls to Paris in the 19th century. French bakers refined them into the laminated, buttery pastries known today.

There are two main types. Laminated viennoiserie, like croissants and pain au chocolat, folds a sheet of butter into the dough to create flaky layers. Non-laminated pieces, like brioche, are rich and soft throughout. Most are best eaten the day they are baked.

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. What are pâtisserie, boulangerie and viennoiserie?, Le Cordon Bleu
  2. A Brief Guide to Viennoiseries: History & 7 Popular Types, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts