PÃO de quiejo

When I first moved to Brazil, I remember going to the paderia to get breakfast. Elder De Freitas said, "Cem gramas de pão de queijo" and out came deliciously warm chewy cheese bread. Between that and ham and cheese croissants, my mornings were always wonderfully delicious. My kids have discovered the joy of cheese bread as well and tend to eat it as a late night snack.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 3/4 cups (1 lb) of tapioca flour
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) of Queso Fresco
 
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Directions
  1. Mix the tapioca flour and salt in a large bowl
  2. In a smaller bowl, break apart the Queso Fresco and combine it with the Parmesan cheese and the eggs
  3. In an even smaller bowl (or better yet, a saucepan), combine the milk and oil and bring to a simmer over medium heat. 
  4. Once it's simmering, pour it into the bowl with the tapioca flour and stir it together. It will be a bit lumpy.
  5. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.
  6. Add the cheese and egg mixture to the tapioca mixture and combine it all together (spoon or hands are reasonable).
  7. Get your hands all oily and then scoop about 2 TBSP of dough into your hands and squeeze it and roll it into a little ball. 
  8. Arrange your cheese bread dough balls on a baking sheet.
  9. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes or so.
Ingredients
  • 500 g de polvilho azedo (sour cassava starch)
  • 150 ml de agua (water)
  • 150 ml of leite (milk)
  • 150 ml  de óleo (canola oil)
  • 2 ovos (eggs)
  • 1 tbsp de sal (salt)
  • 300 g of queijo (mozarella, meia cura, etc.) finally shredded.
 
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Directions
  1. Mix the cassava starch and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Bring the water, milk, and canola oil to a boil over the stove in a medium sauce pain.
  3. Once it comes to a boil, pout it over the starch / salt mixture and work together into a lumpy dough with a spoon.
  4. Let it cool (can be done in fridge).
  5. Once cooled, add in the eggs and mix it together with one hand (very important to use one hand, if you use both hands, then both hands are stupid messy and you'll get crap everywhere....also the same reason you wipe you butt with just one hand). 
  6. Once mixed together, work in the cheese and mix it all together. 
  7. Once mixed, get out your scale and roll the cheese bread into little balls, about 60g a ball. 
  8. Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes (maybe a little less, check your oven). 
  9. Enjoy!