Vietnamese Minibaguettes
Submitted by bettina on January 05, 2006 at 2:52 pm

DESCRIPTION
Vietnamese Minibaguettes

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Yeast Bread/Rolls (not sourdough)

INSTRUCTIONS
This comes from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's *Home Baking, The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World*.

Here's the preface, to their recipe...:

" The French Colonial era in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia had many culinary consequences, among them this attractive fusion bread. Looking a little like a minibaguette but with a different texture, the bread is made in cities and sold in stacks at markets and in the occasional bakery. It's also the basis for the brilliant sub-style sandwiches of Southeast Asia (we call them Mekong subs) that are now available in many cities across North America.

Because wheat doesn't flourish in the topics, wheat flour has to be imported and is relatively expensive. No doubt that's why it's diluted with a little rice flour in these breads. The rice flour, together with the wheat malt, gives them a very distinctive soft crumb, without the elasticity or flavor of a baguette, and a brittle crust. The breads can be made without the malt, they'll have just a little less loft. The breads hold up well when filled with moist fillings (Mekong subs start with butter and mayonnaise, which are topped with sliced meats and/or pate, salad greens, pickled carrot shreds, chiles, herbs, and more) are are best eaten the day they're made."

1 cup rice flour

1 cup pastry flour or cake flour, or substitute 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon wheat malt syrup, or 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

About 4 cups all-purpose flour

Combine both flours and the baking powder in a bowl, set aside.

Using a stand mixer: Place the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and use a spoon to stir the yeast to dissolve. Add the malt syrup or sugar and the rice flour mixture and mix briefly. Sprinkle on the salt and 3 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, and knead for 3 minutes at low speed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for another minute.

By hand: Place the water in a medium bowl and stir in the yeast to dissolve well. Add the malt or sugar and rice flour mixture and stir until smooth. Sprinkle on the salt and 1 cup all-purpose flour and stir in. add 2 1/2 cups more all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and turn and fold with a spoon to incorporate. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, incorporating flour as necessary, until smooth.

Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until more than doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half, then cut each half into 4 equal pieces (each piece will weigh about 6 ounces). Roll each under your palm into a ball, then flatten slightly. Cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place near your work surface.

To shape the rolls, work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the rest loosely covered. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand into an oval, and then use a rolling pin to roll it out to a pointed oval 8 inches long and 6 inches across at the widest point. Roll up into a cylinder, starting from one pointed end and stretching the dough crosswise as you roll, to make a minibaguette about 8 inches long. The seam should be a clearly visible V-shape on the bread. Place on a baking sheet with the point down. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the breads on the baking sheets. Cover and let stand in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes, or until approximately doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, place two racks just above and below the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425F. Fill a sprayer with water and place it near your oven.

Bake the breads for about 20 minutes, spritzing them two or three times in the first 10 minutes and rotating the pans after 10 minutes, until they are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms. Transfer to a rack to coole completely.

Note: If you have leftover breads, freeze them. If you leave a few of them out, they'll be dry by the next day and you can use them to make Vietnamese Bread Pudding (page 147).