Wednesday, October 20, 2010

pao de queijo (cheese bread)

These were one of my favorites long before I had to be gluten-free. I am so relieved they're on the "safe list."  We used to get quick mixes online to make these.   But, after they raised the price of shipping and the mix, I started looking around for a good recipe.  Again, there are many different methods out there of making them.  The first I tried used cold mashed potatoes, and while Andy thought they tasted authentic, it added an extra step to have to think of making mashed potatoes first, and it was just weird to add potatoes ...So, this is the one we found and like. 



  • Pao de Queijo 
(Brazilian Cheese Bread)
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca flour (same as tapioca starch)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Asiago cheese)
1 beaten egg 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour butter, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and heat on medium-high. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately.  Stir in tapioca flour, garlic powder and baking powder until smooth. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. 
Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. (I have found they puff up better if you wait an other 10-15 minutes before putting them on baking sheets.) Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Source: adapted from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/brazilian-cheese-bread-pao-de-queijo/Detail.aspx
What you have here is a crispy-on-the-outside ball of gooey-cheesy-goodness in the middle.  I place them in a towel-lined bowl and try to hide them so they're not gone before dinner...
We are taking off a few days. Don't miss me too much :)
Destination unknown at this point - we may priceline a hotel in Indy or Chicago...or stay around here. If our boys had their dream, we'd go to LegoLand. If we had ours, it would be Brown County. I'm excited to see where we end up. Last night I felt conviction that wherever we are, it will be sans computer (even if we're here). We need some days of stillness. To quiet ourselves to listen better to His voice.


Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Psalm 90

3 comments:

  1. These look so yummy, Sar! I'll have to look for tapioca flour; not sure if they have it here. Hope you have a fun, relaxing getaway!

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  2. We had these at a brazillian restaurant a few years back. De-lish! Thinking about making them for Edie's bday party Friday. How many does one batch serve?

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  3. Ang, good question :) I use a small scoop and it makes 24 usually. Although, a lady from Argentina just made some for me from a diff. recipe, and they. were. amazing! I'll e-mail that to you when we get home. Have fun party planning - I'm sure a sweet party it will be!

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