Pão de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread)

Recipe No.: W-85

InternationalBrazilian45 minServes 20

Few cafés in Brazil are without warm balls of pão de queijo. The bread is associated with the state of Minas Gerais, and it is said to trace back to the state's kitchens centuries ago, when cassava starch was used with cheese. It is a small bread, crisp outside and soft and chewy inside, made from cassava starch rather than wheat, so it is naturally gluten-free. It is eaten with coffee at breakfast or in the afternoon, and the smell as it comes out of the oven gathers the whole family in the kitchen.

Origin of the dish: Brazil (the state of Minas Gerais) — Associated with Minas Gerais and eaten across Brazil at breakfast and with coffee

Photo: Cheesebread.jpg by Murilo manzini, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Pão de Queijo

• 2 cups(250 g) sour cassava starch (polvilho azedo) or tapioca starch
• ¾ cup(180 ml) whole milk
• ¼ cup(60 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 tspsalt
• 2eggs
• 1½ cups(150 g) grated cheese: Minas cheese, or a mix of Parmesan and mozzarella or a sharp cheddar
• Halal note: choose cheese made with vegetarian or microbial rennet (traditional Parmesan uses calf rennet)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C and line a tray with baking paper.
2. Boil the milk, oil and salt in a small pot and pour immediately over the starch in a bowl, mixing with a spoon until crumbly, then leave for 10 minutes to cool.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and knead by hand until you have a smooth, sticky dough.
4. Add the grated cheese and knead until evenly mixed.
5. Wet your hands with oil or water, roll the dough into 3 cm balls and space them 3 cm apart on the tray.
6. Bake for 20–25 minutes until puffed and golden on top, and serve warm.

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