Le pain & bánh mì

The French invasion of Vietnam officially began in September, 1858, with shots being fired from French flotilla towards the forts of Tien Sa peninsula. Saigon soon fell a year later, and the French started their colonization of the country. In the process, they laid a huge impact on many aspects of the nation, one of which included the Vietnamese cuisine. Despite French people having left the region for dozens of years, one of their food creations stayed behind and became an integral part of Vietnam’s already rich food tradition: the French baguette.

It is undeniable that the Vietnamese banh mi is one variation of its predecessor, the baguette. Some sources also cite that the name ‘banh mi’ is a deviation from ‘pain de mie’, though this information is disproved since ‘mì’ means wheat in Vietnamese, while ‘bánh’ had long been used to refer to products made from flour years before. However, the banh mi and the baguette have very distinct features from one another both in their texture as well as flavor.

From the look of the eyes, a banh mi can be told apart from a baguette, with the former being a lot brighter in color compared to a darker, golden brown outer layer of the latter. This results from the original dough mixture containing sugar, which caramelizes under high temperature inside the oven. The brown-ish color may also result from the type of wheat that makes the bread. While the banh mi is often made with the same type of flour mix across cities, French bread can be made with white or brown wheat flour.

French baguettes (and other kinds of French pastry) are sometimes served with what looks like a dusting of flour. Though there are words that some bakers throw some flour on top of their bread to give it some sense of authenticity, the white flour outside of the baguette is the result of excess flour during the rising phase. Unlike Vietnamese banh mi, whose dough is left to rise for approximately 2 hours, dough used for classic French baguettes is usually left in a bowl to rise for 12 to 24 hours. This requires the pastry chef to apply a generous layer of flour on the bowl itself to stop the dough from sticking to its sides. This explains the white areas observed on a baguette.

Upon tearing the bread in two, it is obvious that the inside of a French baguette is flatter and harder than that of the banh mi. This is because the type of dough that makes the baguette is often bread dough, which is high in protein, at around 14%. As for banh mi, which is made out of all-purpose flour, this number fluctuates between 11 to 12%, making the inside softer and more elastic to the feel of hand. In the old days, wheat was not grown locally Indiochina and had to be imported from French, which meant the baguette for most people was a luxury item. To compensate for the lack of wheat, street bakers started adding rice flour to the mix. The practice continued on to the modern days, although not many bakers use rice flour in their banh mi anymore.

The rising time of the dough and the type of yeast that is introduced at the start of the process play a key role in how the inside of the bread looks as well. French baguettes are made with active dry yeast, which takes longer to rise the dough after kneading. French bakers also consider bread-making an art. Therefore, baguette dough is left to rise for anywhere around 4 to 12 hours. The arduously long wait-time gives off loaves of bread which are denser on the inside. On the other hand, as most modern Vietnamese consider banh mi a cheap and versatile substitute for rice, the rising process is reduced to only 2 hours, by using instant yeast (or quick-rising yeast). This results in a much airier interior of the banh mi compared to its predecessor. However harsh the criticism from French bakers might be, banh mi seems to have become a thing of its own, with lots of people loving the light layer of white bread underneath a thin crust.

Finally, baguette and banh mi also differ in how they are presented and served. Baguette can be cut into slices to make small sandwiches, whereas the same thing proves to be impossible for banh mi. Despite both baguette and banh mi being fast food, baguette is stuffed with (usually) ham and cheese, sometimes roasted tomatoes and a dash of sauce, catering to the Western cuisine, while banh mi is often served with Vietnamese sausages, some pickled daikon, and a whole lot of fresh herbs, coming across as a fresh and pungent tropical treat.