Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Minas Gerais-style cheese bread: cassava starch scalded with hot milk and oil, packed with cheese and baked until crisp outside and chewy inside.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Finely grate both cheeses. In a large bowl, mix both starches and the salt, rubbing out any lumps with your fingers. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Add in this stepQueijo minas meia-cura (or a semi-hard cheese such as gouda or emmental) 60 gParmigiano Reggiano, finely grated 25 gPolvilho doce (tapioca starch) 65 gPolvilho azedo (sour cassava starch; or more tapioca starch) 65 gSalt ½ tsp
ovenHeat the milk and oil in a 14 cm saucepan over medium heat for . As soon as it comes to a full, rolling boil, take it off the heat, pour it over the starch all at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. It will turn into a lumpy, sticky crumble: that is right. This scalding step (escaldar) is what gives the bread its chew.
Add in this stepMilk 85 mlNeutral oil 36 ml
medium heatSpread the dough out in the bowl and let it cool for , turning it with the spoon now and then to release steam. It is ready when it feels warm but no longer hot to your hand; if it is too hot, the egg will scramble.
Add the beaten egg in three additions, kneading with your hand for until it is fully absorbed. It will look slippery and split at first, then come together smooth. Add the grated cheese and knead until evenly mixed. The dough should stick slightly to your hand but hold a round shape. If it is too stiff, add milk 1 tsp at a time; if too soft, a little more starch.
Add in this stepEggs (beaten) 1
Rub a little oil on your palms and roll the dough into 3 cm balls (about 20 g each). You will get about 12–13. Place them on the tray 3 cm apart; they puff a lot in the oven.
Add in this stepNeutral oil 4 ml
Bake 1 tray(s) on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for . Do not open the door for the first 15 minutes. They are done when puffed, cracked on top and pale golden underneath (with two trays, swap them halfway). Rest for 5 minutes and eat warm.
oven
Cook's tip
When you need half an egg, beat one and use half of it by weight (about 25 g). Without sour starch you can use only tapioca starch; the bread will rise less and be chewier. Freeze shaped balls on a tray, bag them, and bake straight from frozen with 5 extra minutes.
Cooking it at camp
Shape and freeze the balls at home. At camp, line a lidded cast-iron Dutch oven with baking paper, set it over low embers with more embers on the lid, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. With only a burner, cook them in a heavy covered frying pan on low heat, rolling them now and then; they brown unevenly and rise less than in an oven.