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There are only pictures of the classic sandwhich, i'm trying to find more dishes that fall within the "Banh mi" format. Search: "How many types of Banh mi are there in Danang? (P.1)" for some examples. Maybe we could add a list of major Banh mi varieties with pictures? if anyone can find pictures that is. This article is like a noodle soup article that only lists pho, you know? Banh mi is a blanket term for sandwich. varieties so far: banh mi thit cha, classic thit nguoi, really famous banh mi thit nuong, and banh mi que. Thanks guys. If any of you other foodies find any info, post to this thread. Also, maybe someone can do the same for the goi cuon, salad roll section, because theres a lot of famous variants of that dish too. Eomhrf ( talk) 04:05, 24 August 2012 (UTC)
Just a quick note to talk about the correctness of Bánh mì trứng as being the sandwich w/ scrambled egg, the version I had repeatedly in Vietnam in October of 2009 was called Bánh mì Op la. They also do a very light scramble compared to the common American version in which the yolk and white are mixed completely before cooking. Here the yellow and white are still separate colors for the most part, just conjoined in one delicious mass. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.25.11.254 ( talk) 20:10, 3 November 2009 (UTC)
Getitright 11:20, 26 April 2009 (UTC)
Maybe a native speaker should edit this. I'm a native speaker living in Australia and I call it bánh mì thịt. I just came back from Vietnam and the signs on the shops say bánh mì thịt. Bánh mì just means bread. If you don't believe me search 'bread' then navigate to the Vietnamese translation wiki (Tiếng Việt). Xíu mại also isn't crushed pork meatballs, and what the heck is the eggs done sunny side up for breakfast comment doing in this article? For one, Vietnamese people call the eggs a 'western breakfast', so it's not even Vietnamese cuisine. For two, it's not even a sandwich.
There are some differences in pre-war and post war Vietnamese, yes, but saying "To some overseas Vietnamese, bánh mì can also mean bread" clearly shows a lack of understanding of the language. If you understood anything about the Vietnamese culture, you'd realise our language is implicit and that we never say anything explicitly in conversation, which is why you can ask someone in Vietnamese "Ăn ổ bánh mì không?", literally "Eat loaf bread no?", and they would understand that you are asking "Would you like to eat a bánh mì thịt sandwich?" and not to consume an entire loaf of bread with no contents. However, when one teaches vocabulary or in this case a wikipedia entry, explicitness is required for clarity. This is why a lot of the previous commenters noted they have never heard it referred to as anything else in conversation (unless of course it was referred to as such by other naive English speakers). And as the previous person pointed out, just like in English, we also call it by brand name. Like asking for a Kleenex.
Please fix this or at least ađd a note to say it's inaccurate. I'm sick of non-Vietnamese speakers telling me I'm wrong because wiki says differently.
Oh and another thing, don't call it a bánh mì sandwich either. The average Vietnamese person uses this term to describe the well known sandwich in the western world - that is two slices of bread with filling inside. We just use the words bánh mì to describe any dish that has bread in it. Like bread an' butter puđding.
___________________________
Great sandwiches, here in Seattle you can get them some places for $1.50. Much healthier option than a hamburger
As far as I know, my family calls it Bánh mì Ba Le (with a dot underneath the e). Bánh mì is just the vietnamese word for "Bread".
Ba Le is one of the companies that make Bánh mì, but you can use either one.
All I'm saying is that the word Bánh mì can be used to mean other kinds of sandwiches than the one mentioned here.
I can vouch for that. The person above me is right Starfox Pilot 18:36, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
I've never heard anybody call it anyting other Banh Mi, unless they were talking about a specific type of banh mi. And I've never heard banh mi used to refer to any other type of sandwich. Also, no mention of Bo (the butter / mayo-esque spread) in this article? Serpentes 08:42, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
Per the previous user comments, perhaps a disambiguation and/or change of title to "Bahn Mi sandwich" is in order? The situation with Banh Mi appears similar to the situation with cous-cous - in that the term may be used to simply refer to the plain, staple ingredient (cous-cous / bread) or any number of often elaborate dishes which include the same as an ingredient. In any event, good article on a fantastic sandwich! Drlegendre ( talk) 14:29, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
The following section strikes me as silly. The bottom line is: find a Vietnamese community anywhere in the world and you're likely to find a bánh mì shop. Clconway 20:18, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
The sandwich can be found in small bánh mì shops around the world: in Saigon and throughout Vietnam; in the 13th district of Paris; various Vietnamese communities in Australia including Cabramatta and Footscray; and in many Vietnamese American communities throughout the United States, where Vietnamese food is available in almost every major city. In Canada, Vietnamese sandwiches are available in major cities like Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and anywhere else featuring diverse cultures. Bánh mì are served (often to-go) everywhere from humble mom-and-pop joints to trendy urban bistros.
The following is the same deal as above. This is ridiculous: you can get these sandwiches all over the place. We don't list every chain that sells fried chicken... Clconway 21:28, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
Bánh mì is generally served in small shops and at some phở noodle eateries. Chains offering bánh mì in California include Ba-Le Sandwiches, and Saigon Sandwiches. Lee's Sandwiches operates restaurants in California, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas. Several modern chains offer traditional Vietnamese bánh mì and Western-style baguette sandwiches. Mr. Baguette, a popular bánh mì café located in the Los Angeles suburb of Rosemead, California, is planning to expand to other areas in California. BanhMiBistro is the latest chain of gourmet banh mi stores originated from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam featuring daily fresh-baked bread in its stores. Bánh mì was featured in San Jose in the 2002 PBS documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like.
In Canada Nguyen Huong has four locations in Toronto serving banh mi.
Can someone explain why this article should include text on the localised American names for banh mi? That's not encyclopaedia material. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.130.202.205 ( talk) 03:11, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
I'm starting to notice that the style and recipe are changing, or there may be regional differences. Like at Mr. Baguette, I got a vegetarian one and it had the fake ham, American cheese, a pickle on the side, a hot yellow pepper on the side, and a mustard packet. Jalapeno and cilantro were at a condiment stand. It tasted fine, but the ingredients were unexpected. Also, in recipes online, everyone uses mayo. In the San Francisco shops, some used mayo and butter. I think Ba Le uses butter too. In the past, they seemed to be less full of fillings. Anyway, while there are variations in any kind of food, as this food becomes more widespread, and as the communities where they do business change, the food changes.
Yes, I know this is obvious, but I think it's important to track some changes. Right now, in the Los Angeles area, we're seeing the end of the combination Greek-Hamburger-Mexican-Pastrami-Teriyaki restaurant. It was a product of the LA eastside culture, and developed from the 1940s to the 1980s. Today, it's morphed into a Hamburger-Mexican restaurant, with fried chicken and Mexican charbroiled chicken, and the now ubiquitous breakfast burrito. The Hawaiian lunch plate is also big here, but with a shrinking islander population, it's morphing into something else that incorporates Chinese fast food, and is losing some signature dishes like musubi, lomi, and chili rice. This reflects changing populations and customers.
Likewise, you may be able to track changes to this dish as Vietnamese communities formed in specific cities like Houston, New Orleans, Westminister, Santa Ana, Rosemead, San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, etc. 99.93.192.139 ( talk) 06:19, 30 August 2011 (UTC)
I think this article is flawed; in English, banh mi is written without accents, and refers to a style of sandwich, not bread. I do understand that the English word banh mi comes from the Vietnamese bánh mì, which means bread, but that discussion seems more appropriate for a etymological dictionary than a wikipedia page. The first paragraph sentence "It is sometimes metonymous with ..." is silly, it's not a metonym, it's just a word that has a different meaning in English than Vietnamese.
So I think we should change this article to remove the accents, and remove the discussion of the bread meaning, and instead use the phrase as it is normally used in English, to mean a type of sandwich. It will be clearer, more correct, and remove the dictionary aspect of the entry.
Shall I proceed? If you disagree, tell me why please.
2620:0:1004:A:28FD:7415:C305:3E3 ( talk) 16:42, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
This article mentions a couple of times the French influence in banh mi, but it might be productive to have a section on colonial influence on the sandwich and how its consumption is a post-colonial act? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anishapganguly ( talk • contribs) 19:58, 5 June 2015 (UTC)
The alternate spelling was added on October 30, and changed 11 hours later (by someone in Vietnam with no other edits) to
making it redundant. I know nothing of the language, so I won't change it back. — Tamfang ( talk) 20:10, 15 March 2016 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: Not moved per WP:UE, current and previously found consensus ( non-admin closure) Ⓩⓟⓟⓘⓧ Talk 18:17, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
Bánh mì → Banh mi – In English we wouldn't normally use the diacritics from the Vietnamese script for this. In particular, see Google ngram's display at https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=banh+mi%2Cb%C3%A1nh+m%C3%AC&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cbanh%20mi%3B%2Cc0. In Google's English book corpus, there appear to be no uses of the phrase with the diacritics. I'm not sure this is at all controversial, but I wasn't sure about common practice so I've brought it up for discussion just in case. Largoplazo ( talk) 16:18, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
The first paragraph defines "Bánh mì" primarily as the bread. The infobox defines it primarily as the sandwich. The infobox is correct. In English, "banh mi" refers almost exclusively to the sandwich. Likewise, "banh mi" (with no accents) is now a widely accepted English term (see any dictionary, e.g., [4], [5], [6]) Here's the definition from the dictionary built into macOS:
banh mi | ˈbɑːn miː |
noun (plural same)
(in Vietnamese cuisine) a sandwich consisting of a baguette (traditionally baked with both rice and wheat flour) filled with a variety of ingredients, typically including meat, pickled vegetables, and chilli peppers: along with classic banh mi, there are refreshing cold noodles and exceptional bowls of soup.
ORIGIN from Vietnamese bánh mì ‘bread’.
Therefore, the main headword of the article in English Wikipedia should be "banh mi", not "bánh mì". Just as we have an article for Hanoi, not an article for Hà Nội. And as a widely recognized loanword, "banh mi" should *not* be italicized in the article unless it is being used as part of a native Vietnamese term such as bánh mì thịt nguội. Bueller 007 ( talk) 18:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)
The first source [17] after the paragraph stating that Vietnamese baguettes attribute their fluffy texture to rice flour explicitly states that rice flour is the worst thing for that purpose — the source says it hinders gluten development, prevents browning, and forms hard spots in the dough. It was used for a brief period of time ending with WWI, after which no further information is provided. The relevant paragraph, Google translated:
The French were forced to add rice flour to the flour, to create the "pain de riz" cakes. And so, the culinary barrier that the first-generation colonists worked hard to establish was broken. Interestingly, although the mixing of rice flour with wheat flour only lasted until the end of World War I, many people still believe that the light banh mi made in Vietnam is due to the addition of rice flour (?! ). “There are recipes out there for rice flour that makes up 50 percent of the bread dough, and as a result they create rock-hard lumps of dough that can be thrown and injured,” said Andrea Nguyen, head of the department. chef and food writer who lives in California, said. “Rice flour does not expand due to the lack of gluten. In addition, the rice flour does not turn a beautiful brown color. I have tried several recipes with rice flour and they are terrible.”
To my knowledge, Vietnamese baguettes are proofed within an inch of over-proofing and / or are enhanced with dough conditioner (which is readily available and has been since before the 1950s) in an attempt to make more bread with less flour. The second source [18] says nothing on the matter and the third source [16] says little more than “some recipes use rice flour”, which is far from something worthy of citing. I know it has other relevant information, but it does not provide any insight into the use of rice flour. Source [17] basically completely invalidates the point it is there to support. I imagine the prevalence of the rice theory is in part because a huge percentage of Vietnamese baguettes (in Vietnam) are made by commercial bakeries, so many people living there and even those selling banh mi’s still think the secret ingredient is rice flour. Because of the totally alien texture, more people are inclined to believe this as well. It’s a self-perpetuating myth based on truth. This is anecdotal evidence, but I've made Vietnamese baguettes countless times with nearly that many recipes -- rice flour, if called for, consistently results in a denser and less fluffy product. As a nod to the other side, rice flour is a very good non-stick coating for proofing bread, keeping it from sticking to the banneton / proofing basket (if making the kind of bread that warrants such a tool). I imagine a bakery trying to keep its flour waste as close to zero as possible would be using rice flour for this purpose. In that context, though, it contributes nothing to the fluffiness of the resultant bread. Banh myself ( talk) 00:54, 14 January 2023 (UTC)
![]() |
Daily pageviews of this article
A graph should have been displayed here but
graphs are temporarily disabled. Until they are enabled again, visit the interactive graph at
pageviews.wmcloud.org |
![]() | This ![]() It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
There are only pictures of the classic sandwhich, i'm trying to find more dishes that fall within the "Banh mi" format. Search: "How many types of Banh mi are there in Danang? (P.1)" for some examples. Maybe we could add a list of major Banh mi varieties with pictures? if anyone can find pictures that is. This article is like a noodle soup article that only lists pho, you know? Banh mi is a blanket term for sandwich. varieties so far: banh mi thit cha, classic thit nguoi, really famous banh mi thit nuong, and banh mi que. Thanks guys. If any of you other foodies find any info, post to this thread. Also, maybe someone can do the same for the goi cuon, salad roll section, because theres a lot of famous variants of that dish too. Eomhrf ( talk) 04:05, 24 August 2012 (UTC)
Just a quick note to talk about the correctness of Bánh mì trứng as being the sandwich w/ scrambled egg, the version I had repeatedly in Vietnam in October of 2009 was called Bánh mì Op la. They also do a very light scramble compared to the common American version in which the yolk and white are mixed completely before cooking. Here the yellow and white are still separate colors for the most part, just conjoined in one delicious mass. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.25.11.254 ( talk) 20:10, 3 November 2009 (UTC)
Getitright 11:20, 26 April 2009 (UTC)
Maybe a native speaker should edit this. I'm a native speaker living in Australia and I call it bánh mì thịt. I just came back from Vietnam and the signs on the shops say bánh mì thịt. Bánh mì just means bread. If you don't believe me search 'bread' then navigate to the Vietnamese translation wiki (Tiếng Việt). Xíu mại also isn't crushed pork meatballs, and what the heck is the eggs done sunny side up for breakfast comment doing in this article? For one, Vietnamese people call the eggs a 'western breakfast', so it's not even Vietnamese cuisine. For two, it's not even a sandwich.
There are some differences in pre-war and post war Vietnamese, yes, but saying "To some overseas Vietnamese, bánh mì can also mean bread" clearly shows a lack of understanding of the language. If you understood anything about the Vietnamese culture, you'd realise our language is implicit and that we never say anything explicitly in conversation, which is why you can ask someone in Vietnamese "Ăn ổ bánh mì không?", literally "Eat loaf bread no?", and they would understand that you are asking "Would you like to eat a bánh mì thịt sandwich?" and not to consume an entire loaf of bread with no contents. However, when one teaches vocabulary or in this case a wikipedia entry, explicitness is required for clarity. This is why a lot of the previous commenters noted they have never heard it referred to as anything else in conversation (unless of course it was referred to as such by other naive English speakers). And as the previous person pointed out, just like in English, we also call it by brand name. Like asking for a Kleenex.
Please fix this or at least ađd a note to say it's inaccurate. I'm sick of non-Vietnamese speakers telling me I'm wrong because wiki says differently.
Oh and another thing, don't call it a bánh mì sandwich either. The average Vietnamese person uses this term to describe the well known sandwich in the western world - that is two slices of bread with filling inside. We just use the words bánh mì to describe any dish that has bread in it. Like bread an' butter puđding.
___________________________
Great sandwiches, here in Seattle you can get them some places for $1.50. Much healthier option than a hamburger
As far as I know, my family calls it Bánh mì Ba Le (with a dot underneath the e). Bánh mì is just the vietnamese word for "Bread".
Ba Le is one of the companies that make Bánh mì, but you can use either one.
All I'm saying is that the word Bánh mì can be used to mean other kinds of sandwiches than the one mentioned here.
I can vouch for that. The person above me is right Starfox Pilot 18:36, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
I've never heard anybody call it anyting other Banh Mi, unless they were talking about a specific type of banh mi. And I've never heard banh mi used to refer to any other type of sandwich. Also, no mention of Bo (the butter / mayo-esque spread) in this article? Serpentes 08:42, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
Per the previous user comments, perhaps a disambiguation and/or change of title to "Bahn Mi sandwich" is in order? The situation with Banh Mi appears similar to the situation with cous-cous - in that the term may be used to simply refer to the plain, staple ingredient (cous-cous / bread) or any number of often elaborate dishes which include the same as an ingredient. In any event, good article on a fantastic sandwich! Drlegendre ( talk) 14:29, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
The following section strikes me as silly. The bottom line is: find a Vietnamese community anywhere in the world and you're likely to find a bánh mì shop. Clconway 20:18, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
The sandwich can be found in small bánh mì shops around the world: in Saigon and throughout Vietnam; in the 13th district of Paris; various Vietnamese communities in Australia including Cabramatta and Footscray; and in many Vietnamese American communities throughout the United States, where Vietnamese food is available in almost every major city. In Canada, Vietnamese sandwiches are available in major cities like Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and anywhere else featuring diverse cultures. Bánh mì are served (often to-go) everywhere from humble mom-and-pop joints to trendy urban bistros.
The following is the same deal as above. This is ridiculous: you can get these sandwiches all over the place. We don't list every chain that sells fried chicken... Clconway 21:28, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
Bánh mì is generally served in small shops and at some phở noodle eateries. Chains offering bánh mì in California include Ba-Le Sandwiches, and Saigon Sandwiches. Lee's Sandwiches operates restaurants in California, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas. Several modern chains offer traditional Vietnamese bánh mì and Western-style baguette sandwiches. Mr. Baguette, a popular bánh mì café located in the Los Angeles suburb of Rosemead, California, is planning to expand to other areas in California. BanhMiBistro is the latest chain of gourmet banh mi stores originated from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam featuring daily fresh-baked bread in its stores. Bánh mì was featured in San Jose in the 2002 PBS documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like.
In Canada Nguyen Huong has four locations in Toronto serving banh mi.
Can someone explain why this article should include text on the localised American names for banh mi? That's not encyclopaedia material. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.130.202.205 ( talk) 03:11, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
I'm starting to notice that the style and recipe are changing, or there may be regional differences. Like at Mr. Baguette, I got a vegetarian one and it had the fake ham, American cheese, a pickle on the side, a hot yellow pepper on the side, and a mustard packet. Jalapeno and cilantro were at a condiment stand. It tasted fine, but the ingredients were unexpected. Also, in recipes online, everyone uses mayo. In the San Francisco shops, some used mayo and butter. I think Ba Le uses butter too. In the past, they seemed to be less full of fillings. Anyway, while there are variations in any kind of food, as this food becomes more widespread, and as the communities where they do business change, the food changes.
Yes, I know this is obvious, but I think it's important to track some changes. Right now, in the Los Angeles area, we're seeing the end of the combination Greek-Hamburger-Mexican-Pastrami-Teriyaki restaurant. It was a product of the LA eastside culture, and developed from the 1940s to the 1980s. Today, it's morphed into a Hamburger-Mexican restaurant, with fried chicken and Mexican charbroiled chicken, and the now ubiquitous breakfast burrito. The Hawaiian lunch plate is also big here, but with a shrinking islander population, it's morphing into something else that incorporates Chinese fast food, and is losing some signature dishes like musubi, lomi, and chili rice. This reflects changing populations and customers.
Likewise, you may be able to track changes to this dish as Vietnamese communities formed in specific cities like Houston, New Orleans, Westminister, Santa Ana, Rosemead, San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, etc. 99.93.192.139 ( talk) 06:19, 30 August 2011 (UTC)
I think this article is flawed; in English, banh mi is written without accents, and refers to a style of sandwich, not bread. I do understand that the English word banh mi comes from the Vietnamese bánh mì, which means bread, but that discussion seems more appropriate for a etymological dictionary than a wikipedia page. The first paragraph sentence "It is sometimes metonymous with ..." is silly, it's not a metonym, it's just a word that has a different meaning in English than Vietnamese.
So I think we should change this article to remove the accents, and remove the discussion of the bread meaning, and instead use the phrase as it is normally used in English, to mean a type of sandwich. It will be clearer, more correct, and remove the dictionary aspect of the entry.
Shall I proceed? If you disagree, tell me why please.
2620:0:1004:A:28FD:7415:C305:3E3 ( talk) 16:42, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
This article mentions a couple of times the French influence in banh mi, but it might be productive to have a section on colonial influence on the sandwich and how its consumption is a post-colonial act? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anishapganguly ( talk • contribs) 19:58, 5 June 2015 (UTC)
The alternate spelling was added on October 30, and changed 11 hours later (by someone in Vietnam with no other edits) to
making it redundant. I know nothing of the language, so I won't change it back. — Tamfang ( talk) 20:10, 15 March 2016 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: Not moved per WP:UE, current and previously found consensus ( non-admin closure) Ⓩⓟⓟⓘⓧ Talk 18:17, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
Bánh mì → Banh mi – In English we wouldn't normally use the diacritics from the Vietnamese script for this. In particular, see Google ngram's display at https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=banh+mi%2Cb%C3%A1nh+m%C3%AC&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cbanh%20mi%3B%2Cc0. In Google's English book corpus, there appear to be no uses of the phrase with the diacritics. I'm not sure this is at all controversial, but I wasn't sure about common practice so I've brought it up for discussion just in case. Largoplazo ( talk) 16:18, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
The first paragraph defines "Bánh mì" primarily as the bread. The infobox defines it primarily as the sandwich. The infobox is correct. In English, "banh mi" refers almost exclusively to the sandwich. Likewise, "banh mi" (with no accents) is now a widely accepted English term (see any dictionary, e.g., [4], [5], [6]) Here's the definition from the dictionary built into macOS:
banh mi | ˈbɑːn miː |
noun (plural same)
(in Vietnamese cuisine) a sandwich consisting of a baguette (traditionally baked with both rice and wheat flour) filled with a variety of ingredients, typically including meat, pickled vegetables, and chilli peppers: along with classic banh mi, there are refreshing cold noodles and exceptional bowls of soup.
ORIGIN from Vietnamese bánh mì ‘bread’.
Therefore, the main headword of the article in English Wikipedia should be "banh mi", not "bánh mì". Just as we have an article for Hanoi, not an article for Hà Nội. And as a widely recognized loanword, "banh mi" should *not* be italicized in the article unless it is being used as part of a native Vietnamese term such as bánh mì thịt nguội. Bueller 007 ( talk) 18:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)
The first source [17] after the paragraph stating that Vietnamese baguettes attribute their fluffy texture to rice flour explicitly states that rice flour is the worst thing for that purpose — the source says it hinders gluten development, prevents browning, and forms hard spots in the dough. It was used for a brief period of time ending with WWI, after which no further information is provided. The relevant paragraph, Google translated:
The French were forced to add rice flour to the flour, to create the "pain de riz" cakes. And so, the culinary barrier that the first-generation colonists worked hard to establish was broken. Interestingly, although the mixing of rice flour with wheat flour only lasted until the end of World War I, many people still believe that the light banh mi made in Vietnam is due to the addition of rice flour (?! ). “There are recipes out there for rice flour that makes up 50 percent of the bread dough, and as a result they create rock-hard lumps of dough that can be thrown and injured,” said Andrea Nguyen, head of the department. chef and food writer who lives in California, said. “Rice flour does not expand due to the lack of gluten. In addition, the rice flour does not turn a beautiful brown color. I have tried several recipes with rice flour and they are terrible.”
To my knowledge, Vietnamese baguettes are proofed within an inch of over-proofing and / or are enhanced with dough conditioner (which is readily available and has been since before the 1950s) in an attempt to make more bread with less flour. The second source [18] says nothing on the matter and the third source [16] says little more than “some recipes use rice flour”, which is far from something worthy of citing. I know it has other relevant information, but it does not provide any insight into the use of rice flour. Source [17] basically completely invalidates the point it is there to support. I imagine the prevalence of the rice theory is in part because a huge percentage of Vietnamese baguettes (in Vietnam) are made by commercial bakeries, so many people living there and even those selling banh mi’s still think the secret ingredient is rice flour. Because of the totally alien texture, more people are inclined to believe this as well. It’s a self-perpetuating myth based on truth. This is anecdotal evidence, but I've made Vietnamese baguettes countless times with nearly that many recipes -- rice flour, if called for, consistently results in a denser and less fluffy product. As a nod to the other side, rice flour is a very good non-stick coating for proofing bread, keeping it from sticking to the banneton / proofing basket (if making the kind of bread that warrants such a tool). I imagine a bakery trying to keep its flour waste as close to zero as possible would be using rice flour for this purpose. In that context, though, it contributes nothing to the fluffiness of the resultant bread. Banh myself ( talk) 00:54, 14 January 2023 (UTC)