Banh Mi, Vietnamese Baguette Recipe

Bánh mì Việt Nam. Or Vietnamese baguettes are a street food staple in Vietnam.

They are sold on every street corner. And for good reason. The bread is soft and fluffy. But what really makes them special are the fillings. From pate, cured meat, ham, coriander, mayonnaise to hot sauce, Maggi liquid seasoning, lime, pickled carrots and radish, egg, and fresh cucumber. There will be a party in your mouth as soon as you bite into it. So, give it a go!

We are using a preferment for this recipe which will contribute to the soft and fluffy texture. Using preferments is quite beneficial in a lot of breads. You can check out the Breads with preferment page where I have many more awesome recipes with preferment. It will open up a whole new world of baking for you if you have never tried it before.

This recipe makes 2 baguettes. If you want to make more just double or triple the amount of ingredients.

Watch the video down below to see detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the flying sponge –

100g (3.5oz) strong white bread flour

160g (5.6oz) water at around 19C* (66F)

3g (0.1oz) dry yeast or three times the amount of fresh yeast

*To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

For the main dough –

150g (5.3oz) strong white bread flour

5g (0.2oz) salt

5g (0.2oz) sugar

10g (0.4oz) oil + some more for brushing

Method

1. Make the flying sponge by mixing the water, yeast and flour to a smooth paste and fermenting for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Once the sponge is nice and full of bubbles add the sugar, salt, oil and give it a good mix to dissolve any salt and sugar crystals.
3. Add the remaining flour and mix until no dry flour left.
4. Knead the dough for around 5 minutes. Desired dough temperature 26C (78F). If your dough is warmer, then reduce proofing time.
5. Proof for 25 – 30 minutes.
6. Fold.
7. Proof for 25 – 30 minutes.
8. Divide and preshape.
9. Rest for 10 minutes.
10. Final shaping. Pre-heat your oven to 230C (450F) fan off!
11. Final proof 25 – 30 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
12. Brush the dough with water and slash it.
13. Bake for around 20 minutes.
14. Once baked brush with oil and let cool down.

 My kitchen was quite warm on the day of baking so the dough was fermenting rather rapidly.