Random thoughts about 'gnawing' on bread.

What to eat this morning? In Saigon, on lazy weekends when you don't want to think too much, just go out and buy a hot baguette, dip it in butter and sugar, add a glass of iced coffee with milk, and you're done. On busy weekdays, it's always pate sandwiches, meat sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, pork skin sandwiches, steamed pork dumpling sandwiches…

According to one document, it was the Egyptians who made the world's first bread. They ground wheat, added water, kneaded the dough, and then baked it on stones. The bread at that time was round and flat, rough to the touch but filling. But later they discovered that if the dough was left to knead longer, it would rise, and the baked product would be more fragrant and delicious.

According to Erica J. Peters, a food historian and author of "Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam," bread was introduced to Vietnam by the French around 1910. At that time, the bread was smaller and more compact, fitting easily in the hand, unlike its original form where loaves were as large as pillows and as long as an adult's arm. In those days, people in Hanoi spread pâté on their bread, while those in Saigon filled it with all sorts of things, from pâté, butter, and meat to cucumber and lettuce.

Traditional bread is made from a block of dough split in half lengthwise, with three slits down the middle, and diagonally cut at both ends, baked in a traditional brick oven. The resulting loaf is tastier, crispier, and more fragrant than those baked in modern electric ovens. However, baking in a brick oven is very labor-intensive, as the baker must constantly watch to prevent the bread from burning.

All stages of baking, mixing dough, and shaping the bread were initially done by hand. Each batch of bread (as it was called at the time) would be placed in large woven baskets lined with burlap. Later, with the advent of modern technology, electric ovens were used, followed by drum ovens – jokingly referred to as "field ovens" – repurposed from existing drums. The bakers at this time worked and bonded like a large family, possessing a strong sense of professional ethics and unwavering loyalty; higher wages or better benefits were not enough to attract them.

Back then, the bread was exceptionally high-quality, a testament to the skill and ingenuity of the baker. Children loved dipping it in condensed milk. Freshly baked bread, fragrant with the aroma of baked flour, had a crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy interior; when torn open, a faint warmth still lingered. Adults spread butter on the bread and dipped it in coffee with milk. The wealthy preferred roast duck sandwiches, buying a 60cm long loaf, stuffing it with roast duck and sauce – a grand feast indeed.

Nowadays, banh mi has become one of the ten most appealing street foods in the world. Banh mi is versatile; you can put anything in it, and it tastes good with anything. The most familiar is the banh mi sandwich with pork sausage. A hot, crispy loaf of bread, spread with unsalted butter and pate, is served with a few slices of Vietnamese sausage, pork, pickles, cucumber, cilantro, chili peppers, drizzled with homemade sauce, or simply topped with soy sauce and chili sauce.

Grilled pork patties, made from finely minced pork, mixed with spices and marinated in sauce, then rolled into balls and grilled. The grilled patties are golden brown and fragrant, enticing anyone passing by. Pork skin sandwiches, though not particularly nutritious, consist only of chewy pork skin mixed with a little diluted fish sauce, garlic, and chili, yet many people remember them fondly.

Banh mi is no longer just sold from small glass-fronted carts on street corners; it has also found its way into upscale, prestigious shops with many new and innovative variations. In English dictionaries, instead of translating banh mi as "bread" as it used to be, the term "banh mi" is used, defining it as a type of Vietnamese bread.

And whether it appears in a humble, everyday style or is more elaborately presented on high-end dining tables, bread remains the same: a small, simple, pleasant, golden-brown loaf that goes well with anyone and tastes good with anything.

Text: Phan Cac Truc | Photos: Vietnam House

The Thanh