Friday Bread Basket 9/26/26

Hello from the Wordloaf Friday Bread Basket, a weekly roundup of links and items relating to bread, baking, and grain.

Banh mi and me

As a vegetarian, I'm usually fine with straight-up baked tofu as a protein filling for a banh mi, but I am very intrigued by the sandwich they sell at the Lower East Side's Sensaigon, which is filled with a crispy "pork belly" made from layers of textured vegetable protein for the meaty bits, tapioca starch for the fatty bits, and bread (i.e. more banh mi rolls) for the crispy skin. It's assembled in layers, steamed, allowed to cool, sliced, and then deep-fried. I'm not sure if Sensaigon invented this concoction, but (note to self) recipes exist online:

Vegan Crispy Pork Belly - Veggie Anh

Crispy vegan ‘pork’ belly using 3 layers of bread, TVP slices and creamy coconut fat. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

Veggie AnhVeggie Anh

Run for the Bordier

This Pellicle story by Anaïs Lecoq on France and its butter is wonderful, not least because it taught me that butter hasn't always been considered a luxury item there—until recently, it was thought of as food for the poor (especially salted butter, since the inclusion of salt was a sign the butter was in need of preserving, and not necessarily fresh):

Associating butter with luxury is relatively new, as is the French cuisine au beurre. The modern recipe for the rich and flaky croissant was invented by Sylvain Claudius Goy in 1915, based on a recipe from 17th-century Eastern Europe, while beurre blanc was created by Clémence Lefeuvre in the 1890s. Kouign-amann, the greasiest Breton viennoiserie you’ll ever encounter (its typical ratios are 250g flour to 200g sugar and 200g salted butter), was thought to have been first baked around 1860.

Only the brioche goes back to medieval times, though its prestige rose in the 17th century, when it entered the king’s court. 

Let Them Eat Brioche — On French Butter and the Craze For Distinction — Pellicle

Bright buttercup yellow, it catches the eye, even through the shop window. A woman digs into the generous, fluffy mound of butter and scoops a piece onto the scale. With the help of two notched wooden paddles, she forms it into a perfectly rectangular pat while a studious, delighted audience watches

PellicleAnaïs Lecoq

Mothers of invention

This incredible AJ+ video explains how one set of Gazan bakers have sorted out a way to overcome intense fuel—electricity, gas, and even wood—shortages by using a hairdryer, solar power, newspaper, and sesame oil to heat their oven and continue providing bread for their community. The ingenuity here is deeply inspiring, but let's be clear, the only reason anyone has to go to such lengths is because the state of Israel is trying to starve Gaza by denying them adequate access to basic needs, including fuel and flour.*

Free Palestine.

*If you are inclined to argue with me on this point, or to suggest Gazans deserve their fate, don't. If you do, I will happily and immediately boot you from this newsletter for life.

Have a peaceful, restful weekend. See you next week.

—Andrew