Daring Bakers 05-14: Pão de Queijo

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Pao de Queijo

Hi guys! I’m back with another Daring Bakers’ challenge. This time we made Pão de Queijo :) A Brazilian delicacy, just in time for the World cup!

I don’t think I had ever tried pão de queijo (cheese bread), but we have a very similar snack here, the chipá, which is imported from Paraguay. Chipá is pretty popular (and addictive) and I’m sure mostly everyone loves it.

Pao de Queijo

I checked the recipes and the ingredients are the same, only the procedure chances. And I believe the original chipá (which I think is actually called chipa) has anise seeds added at times, but that’s very rarely seen here (since, you know, anise is a love it or hate it thing, and over here it’s mostly hate it).

Anyway, the procedure that Renata provided for the pão de queijo calls for boiling the milk with the butter, then adding the starch and the eggs. That kinda reminded me of a pâte à choux, but it’s nothing like it really, since the starch turns it into a lumpy mess at first, and then there’s not a lot of egg so the dough is more kneadable than pipeable.

Pao de Queijo

The recipe calls for tapioca starch, which is easy to get here. We call that root mandioca (some people also call it yuca), but I never knew that tapioca and mandioca were the same thing! Lol. I suspected it at first, but I was confused by the pictures of those funny looking tapioca balls (we don’t have those here).

Anyway, sour tapioca starch was ideal, but I didn’t find it (though I didn’t look too hard either). I suppose you could use other types of starches, as long as you don’t use flour, since the starch is what gives these buns their chewy personality.

Pao de Queijo

Anyway… I loved these :) And I was happy to make them since I hadn’t eaten them in a while.

They are so good (and addictive), and I’m sure you’ll love them too! Ps: be sure to check out Renata’s site (link below), she also has a recipe for pão de queijo waffles that I’m eager to try.

Blog-checking lines: This month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge took us on a trip to beautiful Brazil! Renata of “Testado, Provado & Aprovado!” taught us how to make Pao De Queijo, tasty cheese buns that make the perfect snack or treat, and that will make your taste buds samba!

Pão de Queijo

Recipe by Testado, Provado & Aprovado!
Yield: 16 (biggish) buns

250 g / 9 oz tapioca starch
1/2 cup milk
20 g / 1 oz butter
1/2 tsp salt
125 g / 4.5 oz shredded cheese
2 eggs

1. Heat milk, butter, and salt in a small sauce pan until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Sift tapioca starch into a large bowl. Pour the boiled mixture over the tapioca and start stirring with a fork. You will have a lumpy mixture.
3. Keep stirring with the fork, breaking down the lumps as much as you can, until the mixture cools down to warm.
4. At this point, preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C.
5. Add the grated cheese to the tapioca mixture and mix well, now using your hands.
6. Add one egg at a time, mix with your hands until dough comes together.
7. Form balls with the dough and place them on a baking sheet lightly greased with vegetable oil.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until they just start to brown on the bottom.


16 thoughts on “Daring Bakers 05-14: Pão de Queijo

  1. It’s always great to learn from these challenges, I also learned a lot this month, even being the hostess haha
    I learned about chipá, will have to try it very soon! I understand that tapioca is the starch from the mandioca root. If you go to the market here in Brazil, you will find mandioca flour which is totally different, it is made from the whole root, I mean, it’s the grated and dried root. Now, if you grate some fresh mandioca and soak it in water, strain it and leave the remaining water untouched for a couple of hours, there will be a white sediment in the bottom, which is tapioca! Manufacturers dry it out and make the tapioca starch we buy at the markets :)
    You got excellent results, your pão de queijo is very yummy looking! Thanks for joining in!

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