Why Bahn Mi Bread is NOT a Baguette

Jill Nguyen left Vietnam at 14 with two suitcases. Seventeen years later, she has become one of DC’s most beloved bakers.In this episode of The Hungry Immigrant, Abang Brian sits down with Jill, the Vietnamese-born baker behind Capital Jill Baking. Jill never baked before 2020, but what began as pandemic restlessness turned into a life of sourdough, cakes, community, and a starter named Scarlett Dough Hanson.They talk about leaving Hanoi, building a life in America, the real banh mi bread, why it is not a baguette, tamarind caramel, Milo, sambal, snail sausages, and the beautiful madness of gathering almost 300 cakes in one room.This is a story about migration, reinvention, and how flour, water, time, and stubbornness can become a new home.