Pao de Queijo – Pan de Queso or Cheese bread rolls

While visiting many countries is South America you can always count on having some sort of bread! Yes we love bread in any shape or form. Chile comes in first place as the country that consumes the most bread followed by Argentina and Uruguay.

Brazil presents a very tasty bread roll called Pao de queijo, which means cheese bread. It originated in the State of Minas Gerais, and to my surprise these rolls were delicious, they are different from other types of bread because of the cheese and the fact that is made with almidón de yucca, which can either be sweet or bitter. Almidón de yucca is cassava starch. In Brazil is common to use “polvilho” almidón de yuca agrio to make the cheese bread; in the USA I was only able to find Tapioca flour which is the starch from the cassava root.

The pao de queijo is served at breakfast time with a good cup of coffee, but people would like it at any time of the day served as a snack. It is so popular that you can find it just about anywhere in Brazil, and you could also buy pre-made dough so you can enjoy them freshly baked at your home. Usually in Brazil these pao de queijo are bigger in size, I like to have them as snacks and that is the reason why I made them smaller in size.

For this recipe I am using Manchego cheese instead of the white cheese they use in Brazil. Manchego cheese is one of my favorite cheeses, it is from the southern Spanish plains of Castilla – La Mancha, and this cheese is made of sheep’s milk. It´s firm texture makes it an excellent snack, accompanied by any tart fruit.

I know people use parmesan cheese for this recipe; also Parmigiano Reggiano would work just fine. If you want to make it a bit spicy add some red pepper flakes.

Once more we have another flexible recipe; you can make it your own.

 

Makes 12 medium-sized cheese bread rolls

 

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cup Tapioca flour

¼ cup olive oil

1 egg lightly beaten

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

¾ cup Manchego cheese shredded

Pam cooking oil to spray on baking sheet

 

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 ̊F degrees

1.- In a mixing bowl mix 1 cup of Tapioca flour with the salt and leave aside

2.- In a medium-size pot bring the milk and oil to boil, do not leave unattended. Once it starts bubbling remove from heat and add to the dry mixture.

3.- In the mixing bowl start mixing the milk and oil mixture with the tapioca flour. I found that a rubber spatula works perfect for this; remember it is hot to the touch. Mix well, it is going to take some time because this dough is very sticky. Keep mixing the dough until it reaches room temperature.

4.- Once it is cool to the touch add the egg and start mixing it into the dough

5.- Then start adding the cheese in small amounts plus the remaining tapioca flour until the dough reaches the right consistency; a good test is to use a spoon to make a ball and then place it on the baking sheet- the dough should stand alone, and not be runny. If it is too liquid you can add more Tapioca flour.

6.- With a medium-size cookie scoop start making the bread rolls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.

7.- Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes. The bread rolls will become puffy and golden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy it with a good cup of coffee, which is the Brazilian way!

 

Note: This Pao de Queijo is becoming more popular nowadays because it is gluten free, and you could always substitute regular milk for a different kind.

 

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ResearchGate: James M. Wise 

Author´s page: James M. Wise

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Author´s page: Yanira K. Wise

 

South America seems to refuse to show its inexhaustible creative force.