If you happen to know any Brazilians leaving abroad, ask them to name the five foods that they miss the most. I’m willing to bet that “pao de queijo” (little cheese bread) makes the list. Some might even shed a tear or two thinking about it.
Want to say it as a native? The nasal sound of “pao” is a little tricky, listen…
Originally from the beautiful state of Minas Gerais, they are made with a farmer’s type cheese, quite unique (Minas’ cheese, read about it here). Brazilian cheese bread is so popular that nowadays you can buy it in stores all over the country called ‘Casa do Pao de Queijo” (Home of the Cheese Bread), or as a dry mix, in colorful bags available at most grocery stores. I’ve lost track of how many such bags we’ve stuffed in our luggage coming back from annual trips to visit family and friends.
Last year I found a recipe for pao de queijo published by Fer, in her blog Chucrute com Salsicha. She is a Brazilian-American like myself, and she raved about them. When things like pao de queijo are on the line, Brazilians attentively listen to each other… At least three Brazilian bloggers back this recipe. Try it, you’ll love it
BRAZILIAN CHEESE BREAD
(adapted from Fer, original recipe from Neide)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup farmer’s cheese (see comments)
1 T Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
for topping (optional)
fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
kosher salt
Add all ingredients, except those for the topping, into a blender. Blend very well at full speed, stopping a couple of times to scrape the surface of the blender’s cup, making sure no bits of tapioca starch are left unmixed.
The mixture will be a little thinner than pancake batter. Pour the batter in mini-muffin tins, to no more than 3/4 of their capacity, as shown here. The recipe makes 24 little cheese breads.
Add a little bit of salt and rosemary on top, place in a 400F oven, and cook for 20 minutes.
Most will come out right away without sticking. If some stick slightly, allow them to cool for a few minutes and probe them out gently with the tip of a knife.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: In the original recipe, Neide was trying to mimic little cheese breads she had at a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro. She used exclusively Parmiggiano cheese in the batter. I’ve made this recipe many times, and now settled on a combination of two cheeses: a melting type, preferably Mexican, and a small amount of Parmiggiano to sharpen the taste. Of course, depending on the type of cheese, adjust the salt. In this batch I did not add any rosemary, but please do so, it is perfect with it.
They resemble popovers in texture, but are gluten-free, so folks with gluten allergies can still enjoy them!
I tried pao de queijo in a Brazilian restaurant here in Firenze and wondered how it was made. (but forgot to search the recipe once back home
). Thanks for sharing this recipe, I’ll surely try it.
A Brazilian restaurant in Firenze! Maybe one of those barbecue places “rodizio-style”?
Firenze and Siena are amazing places, I fell in love with both…
Mmmmh! Brazilian barbecue is awesome… what the hell do you do to meat to have it so juicy? We have a pay-per-weight Brazilian restaurant in Firenze. You stuff your dish with any kind of delicacy at the buffet and you pay a fixed per gram rate.
Sally..they sound great..I don’t think I will find mexican type cheese here..is there anything else you could suggest? Barb
Hi, Barb…
I would use a Monterey Jack type… melts well, clean taste.
Mozzarella might work well too, but I would use the low moisture kind, not the fresh one, packed in liquid.
Hope you will love these!
Sally..They are delicious! My only problem was getting them out of the pans..my muffin tins are old..should I grease them lightly? A friend is going to lend me her non stick pans..I used the jack cheese as you suggested. My only problem is going to be keeping a few for dinner as samplers are passing through the kitchen. Many thanks. Barb
Hi, Barb
mine are non-stick and almost brand new (they have been sitting in my cupboard for a long time together with the hundreds of gadgets I cannot resist buying…
If yours stuck too much, grease the tins a little bit, should work fine. Glad that you enjoyed them!
Do not mention gadgets..or cookbooks..you and I seem to be birds of a feather!! Barb
esse paozinho de queijo eh uma delicia. ja fiquei com vontade de fazer–hoje!
beijoo,
Eternamente em debito com voce por ter me mostrado a receita…
Bjs….
I just made this and it did not come out as pretty as yours! I will try the blender technique next time.
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Hi! My parents are Brazilians and have several Brazilian friends living here in Canada. I have a slightly different recipe for pao.
Oven 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
3C tapioca flour
4 eggs beaten
1 C Parmesan cheese
1 t salt
1/2 C water
1/2 C milk
3/4 C vegetable oil
Put tapioca flour into a mixing bowl. Heat the wet ingredients (excluding the eggs) until they reach a full boil. Pour over the tapioca flour and mix well to form a sticky dough. Mix in the cheese well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before adding the eggs as you do not want the eggs to cook in the hot batter. When the batter is cooled enough mix in the eggs. With greased hands form 1/4 cup sized balls and space evenly on cookie sheet.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden and puffed up.
Delicious!
Thanks for posting your recipe, I am going to try it as soon as possible and let you know how it goes….
one can never have too many recipes for something as delicious as pao de queijo!
Just a quick note to let you know that ever since we made these (and it’s been twice already!), I absolutely crave these little gems. I was craving them tonight, so I thought I’d say thank you for the recipe.
This is unreal! I just left a comment on your site, EXACTLY as you are leaving a comment on mine!
great minds comment alike!!!!
I really missed Pao de Queijo after leaving Brazil and had to come up with my own recipe but I never thought to use any water and I’m not sure you haven’t got it nailed here! Incidentally, have you ever tried adding a little chopped tarragon to the batter before baking? It goes superbly with the cheese!
Dan
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Old post but worth a mention…use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil!
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I’ve come across pao de queijo twice. Once, unsurprisingly, at the pay-by-weight Brazillian barbecue buffet in Woburn, MA. They’re really good as part of mini-steak sandwiches with their spit-roasted beef.
The second, more surprisingly, is at The Reel Club (http://www.reel-club.com/) in Oakbrook, IL, where their gluten-free nature seems to be a big plus. They may be served at the bar only. There’s oddly no acknowledgement of their Brazilian heritage.