I’ve been going a bit mad with the sourdough ciabatta lately and have decided it is the perfect vehicle for a bánh mì!

My love affair with ciabatta started when I bought a large bag of nine-grain “ciabatta” buns from Costco. I was quite taken with these lovely triangular buns, so decided to consult Dr. Google to find a recipe for homemade ciabatta.

As it turns out, the only resemblance to ciabatta that the whole-wheat Costco buns have is that they are triangular. Indeed most ciabatta recipes are white, sourdough, and full of amazing air pockets. The crumb is open, while the Costco buns are rather dense with a closed crumb.

I must’ve read every sourdough ciabatta recipe online, and eventually settled on this simple recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen. Paul gave me a bit of his sourdough starter, and I think I’ve made at least a dozen loaves of ciabatta over the last couple of weeks. Alexandra’s recipe is very simple and I made only a few adjustments: I increase the amount of starter, cut out the fridge ferment, and I just leave the dough on the counter overnight rather than refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

I also use AP flour since Canadian AP flour tends to be 12 – 13% protein, which is equivalent to US bread flour, which usually has 12.7% protein.

One trick I’ve used to avoid the sourdough prison of 2020 (where I seemed to spend every day in service to my castoffs) is that I keep the starter in the fridge and feed it once a week on the counter and pop it back in the fridge. When I want to make some ciabatta or sourdough focaccia, I remove 100 grams of starter and feed it 100 grams each of water and flour. I then use 125 grams for two loaves of ciabatta and 125 grams for two rounds of focaccia. No castoffs!! Yay!

In any event, ciabatta is a great sandwich bread because its crust is so tender and the crumb is so open.

As mentioned above, after trying a number of different fillings, I decided it would be the perfect vehicle for bánh mì.

So I made a big batch of quick pickled vegetables–red onion, white onion, purple cabbage, carrots, jalepenos, and cucumber.

Quick-Pickle Vegetables

Heat in a saucepan until salt and sugar is dissolved:

•  2 cups vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 TBS sea salt
• 5 TBS sugar

Fill a 56-ounce mason jar with a mixture of chopped and grated vegetables (red onion, white onion, purple cabbage, carrots, jalepenos, daikon, cucumber, etc.) and pour the pickling brine over top. You can use any combo of vegetables you like, but for a bánh mì, the carrots, cukes, and jalepenos are essential!

Leave on the counter until the jar is cool and then refrigerate. Once the jar is cool, the vegetables will be soft enough to use.

The recipe above can be cut in half; I just love quick-pickled vegetables so always make a big batch for salads, sammies, and bowls.

So now we have the bread and the veggies, we just need some nicely flavoured tofu to complete our bánh mì!

First, make a quick batch of crispy tofu using this recipe!

Next, make this sauce…

Tofu Sauce

• 3 TBS soy sauce 
• 3 TBS seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 TBS Maggi sauce
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 2 tsp sesame oil 
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBS chopped ginger

Blend in the magic bullet and then heat in a small saucepan. When the tofu is finished air-frying, add it to the sauce and allow the sauce to thicken a bit.

Now it’s time to assemble your bánh mì!

Slice open your ciabtta and slather each side with a mixture of sriracha and vegan mayonnaise. Load up a few slices of the tofu, top the tofu with a healthy layer of pickled vegetables, add…

• sliced jalepeno peppers
• a sprinkling of chopped cilantro

And there you have it! A perfect vegan bánh mì!

Bob and Susan were here last week, and Bob gave me some great music recs as usual, including this one by Kacey Musgraves: