Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and cheesy all around! Chewy Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao De Queijo) are a tasty gluten-free alternative to rolls!
100gfreshly grated Parmesan cheese(about 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
In medium pot, heat milk, oil and salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Do not let it reach a vigorous boil. Remove from heat once bubbles start appearing along the edge or the milk starts foaming a bit. Milk should be steaming. Stir well.
Add all the tapioca starch and stir to combine until full incorporated. Dough will be gooey, sticky, and lumpy. (See note below if dough is runny.)
Pour dough into mixing bowl and let rest until cool enough to touch, at least 15-20 minutes.
Preheat oven 450 deg F (230C).
Using a mixer with either a paddle or dough hook attachment, mix the eggs into the dough thoroughly until well-combined. (See note below.)
Add grated Parmesan cheese and mix well to combine.
Using either a scoop, two spoons, or your hands, form dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Put baking sheet into oven and immediately turn heat down to 350 deg F (180C).
Bake for 30 minutes until bread is golden brown. Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes
While you do not want your milk to boil, you want to make sure it is hot enough before you stir in the tapioca starch so that the starch congeals. Milk should be steaming hot.
If the dough mixture is still runny after mixing the tapioca starch with the milk, do not add any more tapioca starch. Instead, pour the batter into greased/lined muffin tins and bake as per instructions.
Tapioca starch and cassava flour are from the same cassava plant, except that tapioca is the starch extracted from the plant. Both tapioca starch and cassava flour can be used interchangeably in this recipe.
220g of tapioca starch is roughly equivalent to 2 cups in volume with the tapioca starch be scooped into the cup. Using weight measurements is more accurate, however, and will yield better results.
If you do not have a mixer, you can mix the eggs in by hand with a spoon, but it will require some elbow grease. In this case, I would beat the eggs first before adding to the tapioca dough so that they are easier to incorporate.
If mixing by hand, your dough will likely be lumpier than if using a mixer, but that's okay!
If you prefer a smoother dough/batter, mix it for longer, or you can also pulse in a food processor to make a more cohesive dough.
With wet fingers, gently press in any jaggy edges or points on the dough balls before baking to smooth out the surface, if desired.
If you prefer the bread to be less salty or cheesy, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon and the Parmesan cheese to 1 cup.
Stir in chopped scallions and garlic for a tasty alternative!