Recipe · Baking
Pão de queijo – cheese bread from Minas Gerais
The little cheese rolls from Minas Gerais are crisp outside, soft and chewy inside and are made without wheat flour. The dough is made in 20 minutes – all that really matters is the right starch and a soft, sticky dough.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C conventional (180 °C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Bring the milk, oil and salt to the boil in a pot.
- Pour the hot mixture over the tapioca starch and stir quickly with a spoon until no dry starch is visible. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes until you can handle the dough.
- Work in the eggs one at a time, then knead in the cheese. The dough is soft and sticky but still workable.
- With lightly oiled hands shape walnut-sized balls and place them on the tray with some space between.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until the rolls have risen and are golden. Best eaten while still warm.
- Dough too firm? Work in a tablespoon of milk. Too runny? Add a tablespoon of starch.
- Make ahead: Pre-freeze raw balls on the tray, then store in a bag. Bake straight from the freezer; add a few minutes to the baking time.
- Gluten-free? Pure tapioca starch naturally contains no gluten. With coeliac disease, look for appropriate labelling of the starch (contamination during processing is possible).
- Original: In Brazil people often use half “sweet”, half “sour” cassava starch (polvilho doce/azedo) and Minas cheese. With tapioca starch and Parmesan/Gouda you get a very close approximation.
Handy extras
If something is missing for the recipe: Ad: The Amazon links are affiliate links. They lead to search results, not to a specific offer.
Tapioca starch / polvilho
The main ingredient. Check that the pack says “tapioca starch” or “cassava starch”.
Pão de queijo baking mix
For when you are short on time. Check the ingredient list to see whether it is truly gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my pão de queijo collapse?
Usually the dough was too runny or the oven was opened too early. Keep the dough slightly firmer and wait until about 20 minutes have passed before checking.
Which cheese is suitable?
Full-flavoured, finely grated hard cheese: Parmesan, mature Gouda, Alpine cheese or a mixture. Cream cheese or very soft cheese makes the dough too moist.
Can I use wheat flour instead of tapioca starch?
No, that gives you a different kind of pastry. The typically chewy crumb comes from the cassava/tapioca starch.
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