It has been a Vegan Yum Yum week at our house. On Tuesday, I opted for the Tamarind Seitan kabobs and last night was all about Banh Mi sandwiches made with Smokey Miso Tofu. I don't tinker with this recipe, as it is so good that it is already perfect. I do recommend using parchment paper just for easier clean up. Also, do be sure that you press your tofu. Here are some pictures of my set up. Notice that the weight is a metal bowl full of bags of dried beans. Trust me that you want a weight that can't really break. My favorite glass bowl that I used to make bread dough and my favorite iron skillet are weights I used in the past, and they both broke (the handle on the skillet broke off--I still use it. The bowl, unfortunately, did not make it).
The bread for this was my version of Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Here's my recipe. My modifications are that I don't use any white AP flour and I add oil and sugar. 1/2 T of each for a standard baguette isn't going to hurt you :) You can leave the oil and sugar out if you must, but know that the texture of the bread will be rougher. The oil and sugar make it a softer loaf. I'm sure there's a science to this, but I just know the bread doesn't tear up the roof of my mouth this way.
Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour this in the bowl with your dry ingredients. Stir until all of the flour is taken up. It is a wet, shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. I let mine go for a good four hours.
Once your dough is ready to go, line your French loaf pan with parchment paper. Dust the top of your dough with flour and punch it down. I just karate chop it down the center to separate the two dough balls. One goes in each side of my lined baguette pan. I cover with a towel and let it rise again while the oven preheats to 425. Let it rise a good 30 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove to cool while you cook your tofu (also at 425, handily enough).
The crowning touch is a good slaw. Chop up about two cups of green cabbage, two carrots (I just ribbon it with my peeler), and a good cup or so of julienne cut peppers. I used those little tri-color sweet peppers that come in a bag (which also skewer and grill well to go with your Tamarind Kabobs because you know you're going to make that one, too). The dressing is simply 1 Tablespoon of lime juice, 1 Tablespoon of good quality Tamari (you can use soy sauce if that's what you have), and a bit of garlic chili paste. That's it. Toss it together and cram it in your sandwich.
To build these, I generally slice a baguette in half, then I split each of those halves across. I pull out a good bit of the interior and save those for raggedy croutons or bread crumbs for some other dish later. I also feed some to Trey, who says to me all the time that I don't bake bread nearly often enough.
Enjoy! I highly recommend you get the VYY app if you have an iPhone or iPad. It's a great resources when you know you want something vegan and something yummy.
Ok, now it need a Bahn Mi! There's a food truck in town called The Pickled Carrot that makes a killer Bahn Mi. I get the tofu-mushroom one and it's awesome! This sounds pretty close.