Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread Puffs)

Photo: Murilo manzini · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Brazil's favorite breakfast and coffee snack: crisp-shelled, chewy, cheesy little rolls made with tapioca flour, naturally gluten-free and gone in minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups tapioca flour
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1¼ cups finely grated Parmesan

From your pantry: ⅓ cup oil, ½ cup water, ½ tsp salt.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Bring the milk, water, oil and salt just to a simmer in a small pot, then pour it over the tapioca flour in a large bowl and stir hard with a wooden spoon until it forms a sticky, lumpy dough.
3. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then add the egg and knead it in with your hands until smooth. Work in the cheese until evenly mixed. Rest the dough for 15 minutes.
4. Oil your hands and roll level tablespoons of dough into balls, about 40 in all. Set them 1 inch apart on the sheet.
5. Bake until puffed and lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Serve warm.

Tip: Freeze the rolled balls on a tray, then bag them; bake straight from frozen for 25 to 30 minutes for fresh cheese bread any morning. Half Parmesan and half queso fresco or mozzarella is closer to Brazil's queijo minas.

Nutrition per serving

Good for

Adapted from Easy and Delish.

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