Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)
Pão de queijo made with real cheese, homemade and delicious.
Pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) is a very common Brazilian dish — kids love it, and you can find it everywhere.
But not every pão de queijo is really pão de queijo, right? Who hasn't bought one that turned out to be more of a dry tapioca cracker, or just dough with no cheese at all, or the store-bought kind that leaves a chemical aftertaste?
Once we start making our own pão de queijo at home, it's hard to settle for any other kind.
And if you don't love the recipe as is, feel free to adjust the ingredients until it matches your taste and preference.
Double or triple the recipe to keep pão de queijo in the freezer for whenever you want!
I always make a double batch here at home once a month.
I mix sweet and sour tapioca starch to get a combination of softness and a nice crust, but some people prefer just the sweet one, or just the sour one.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sour tapioca starch (polvilho azedo)
- 1 1/2 cups sweet tapioca starch (polvilho doce)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 heaping cup grated semi-cured Minas cheese (or a similar mild, semi-firm cheese)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Method
- 1
Mix the tapioca starches with the salt in a bowl.
- 2
Add the milk, water, and coconut oil to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- 3
Pour the boiling mixture over the dry ingredients and mix very well.
- 4
Add the eggs and mix well.
- 5
Lastly, add the grated cheese and mix.
- 6
Shape into balls of your desired size. At this point, if you'd like, you can freeze them on a tray before transferring to a bag for the freezer. Wet your hands with water or oil to help roll the balls.
- 7
Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C (375°F) for about 30 minutes, or until golden. If baking from frozen, use 180°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes, or until golden.
- 8
A tip to keep the pão de queijo from deflating as it cools while staying nice and round: don't take it out until it's fully baked, golden, and dry on the outside, and let it sit in the oven even after it's done baking, so it cools down slowly along with the oven instead of taking it out hot and shocking it with the cooler air.
