My mother loves nothing but loaves of bánh mì which are freshly baked in wood-fired ovens and still feel hot in her hands the moment she has them. I’m happy that I could always make her satisfied thanks to the traditional bakeries near our house. Many bakeries in Huế have changed from baking bánh mì in wood-fired ovens to electric ovens for fire safety and saving time, only some in our neighborhood still use the traditional ones.
However, I’ve recently talked to Quốc, a 25-year-old bánh mì maker and owner whose bakery is located in Kim Long Market and he revealed that he would have to change to electric-oven baking shortly as the market management was concerned about fire safety. Before this bakery would be modernized, I photographed Quốc’s making bánh mì in the traditional way for remembrance.
