Monday, Bank Holiday, and I am craving some Brazilian street food. Cheese bread to be precise. A Minas Gerais State tradition, pão de queijo gradually became a national favorite. Tasty, affordable, and readily available in Brazil, it’s a great snack for when you’re on the go or a nibble with your favourite drink. It’s also gluten-free. Pão de queijo derives from cassava starch biscuits dating back to the eighteenth century. Although the most authentic pão de queijo recipes take Minas cheese, which is white and fresh, grated parmesan also works well. In this recipe I used mature cheddar & parmesan cheese. There are many recipes for pão de queijo. Here is one which makes the outside golden crusty, doesn’t collapse and it’s not hollow. This particular recipe is very fashionable in Minas Gerais state in Brazil at the moment.
Ingredients
• 1 and 1 / 2 cup tapioca (250 g)
• 1 cup of polvilho doce (manioc starch)
• 200 g cheese – I used mature cheddar
• 1 cup of polvilho doce (manioc starch)
• 200 g cheese – I used mature cheddar
750 ml – 3 cups milk
• 250 ml – 1 cup corn or sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon (shallow soup) salt
• 2 whole eggs
• 250 ml – 1 cup corn or sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon (shallow soup) salt
• 2 whole eggs
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| Tapioca |
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| Polvilho doce |
– Salt 1 cup of cold milk with a tbsp of salt.- Soak the tapioca in a bowl with 1 cup of the salted milk for at least 30 mins. Reserve. see picture below:
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| tapioca has absorbed all liquid |
– Meanwhile, in a pan bring to boil 2 cups of milk + 1 cup of corn oil. Keep an eye as the milk and oil mixture can boil over overflowing incredibly fast …- In a 2nd bowl blanch 1 cup of polvilho doce with the mixture of fresh milk and hot oil. It’s just a small amount of povilho (manioc starch) , so stir vigorously with a spoon, lumpy initially and instantly becomes a homogeneous white gum.
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| the povilho doce (sweet manioc starch) mixture hot milk and oil = white gum |
– Add the tapioca hydrated to the gum mixture.
– Add the diced cheese and 2 whole eggs. Mix everything with a spoon.
– Now wait about 20 minutes on the counter or refrigerate. It is now a soft dough initially,
you can not rolled it into balls. The tapioca will suck the liquid mass and the cold will also helps. The texture will change and you will be able to then make balls and baked it.
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| ready for the fridge for 20 mins |
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| ready for the oven |
Preheat the oven for 10 to 15 minutes high temperature. Hot oven, place the cheese bread to bake, for 5 minutes in very high temperature. Then lower the temperature to 180C and bake for 20 minutes. By doing so this cheese bread won’t collapse. Eat immediately hot or room temperature.
Pão de queijo can be filled with doce de leite (dulce de leche) or creamy goiabada (red flesh guava), quince, bacon or olives for example. It can be bite size or larger. It goes well with coffee and Guarana (Brazilian soft drink).
Polvilho and tapioca flour can be found at Portuguese, Brazilian and some Asians shops/delis. read here
Polvilho and tapioca flour can be found at Portuguese, Brazilian and some Asians shops/delis. read here
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| traditional |
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| filled with dulce de leche |
Receita da Priscilla.
BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT!!!!!! xxxxxxxx
Oh yum! Going to have to look out for tapioca flour and starch now!
sensational! I tried this before but I never thought of adding sweet filling to them
My Gluten Free Wife is now pestering me to take a trip to Parson's Green to get some polvilho doce.
First, it's grand to find an authentic recipe for pao-de-queijo (the internet is swarming with wannabees, some even calling for yeast (!) and most looking like pancake batter in muffin cups rather than tasty balls of yumminess). So thanks so much, and hats off to this lady who knows what she's doing with the recipe.
Wondered about the use of organic eggs, because surely the starches are not necessarily so.