Pão de Queijo or cheese bread, in Portuguese, is a type of bread made in Brazil using Tapioca starch (Sabudana flour). The Brazilian Cheese Bread is usually eaten as a snack or for breakfast. The bread is made with lots of cheese and the only flavors are that of the cheese and the tapioca starch.
Tapioca is not difficult to get in India. It is usually eaten on days of fasting in various forms. But I have rarely ever consumed it in the flour form. The thing is I accidentally picked up the flour at the grocery store at least a year back and it has been languishing in the pantry since then. I had no idea what to use it for other than maybe some pudding. So I went hunting around the WWW to find out what to make with it.
Brazilian Cheese bread seemed like the perfect thing to experiment with. I had to use the flour and most of the other ingredients in the recipe were luckily on hand. Pão de Queijo has a crispy top and a gooey inside. The gooey part is usually because of the cheese that you add to the batter. As the main flovor to the bread comes from cheese, you can experiment with different varieties and add herbs to serve the bread as a quick, flavorful breakfast.
Brazilian Cheese Bread Ingredients
1 Cup (250 gms) Tapioca flour (Sabudana flour)
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Sunflower Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Thyme
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 Cup Parmesan
How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
1. Mix the Tapioca flour Thyme and Oregano and set aside
2. In a pot, mix the oil, milk and water and bring to a boil
3. Add the salt and then mix in the flour
4. With a stick blender whisk the batter until it is even and you can see
the oil glaze
5. Let it cool for a few minutes and then add the eggs one by one and mix them into the batter
6. Pre-heat the over to 200-220 deg C
7. Add the cheese and whisk a couple of minutes more until all the ingredients are mixed well
8. On a baking sheet place a ping-pong ball sized scoops
9. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 min
Serve warm with a condiment of your choice.
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