RSS
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Google+
Spotlight
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)
December 20th, 2010Recipes, Baking Recipes, Recipes60 Comments
When I was working in LA, every week my colleagues and I would go to The Farmers Market at the Grove for the Brazilian BBQ. Pampas Grill—the stall selling the BBQ—is probably one of the most popular eateries at the Farmers Market. There is always a long line of patrons lining up for the hot-off-the-grill, juicy, and scrumptious Brazilian BBQ, including the Hollywood kind. One time, the ex-husband of Courtney Cox, David Arquette and his entourage were lining behind me…
While the meats served at Pampas Grill are amazingly good, I went there mostly for the Pão de Queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread—the mini cheesy puff in ball shape that is always soft but chewy, puffy, and addictive. I would load up a bunch of them to go with the meats. Lunch was always good.
Earlier this year, when Elise of Simply Recipes posted her Pão de Queijo recipe, I was so excited to make it but I was pregnant then and followed a very strict diet that precluded me from eating cheese. Anyway, time flies and now that Baby G is here, I am sort of on a cheese binge these days. I finally made the Brazilian Cheese Bread. I finished all sixteen (16) of them in practically 15 minutes (!) and immediately made the second batch! They are so good that Little Teochew, my friend in Singapore, also made them.
(Click Page 2 for the Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) Recipe)
Pages: 1 2
Click Below for More Easy and Delicious Recipes:
SHARE THE RECIPE & PHOTOS:
I love Pampas Grill, I eat there all the time, and yes, their Brazilian cheese bread is AWESOME! Love it.
Yes, Pampas Grill is awesome. I haven’t been there for over 1 year, since I left my job some 1+ year ago. :(
O I love these! They’re my favorite part of brazilian BBQ. Thanks for the recipe, I’d love to try these soon.
Exactly, I go to Brazilian BBQ because of these cheese puff. So good.
They sure look yum yum yummy! Wah Bee, you must really miss your cheeses, eh? ;) Thanks for the mention too!
You’re welcome. Your post reminded me that I need to make them ASAP. Hehe.
Hi Rasa
Thanks for the recipe, these look yummy and easy enough for me to try, i have one question, what does it mean when you say:
Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
What is Scant?
Thanks again Rasa!
Scant means not full…slightly less than the full cup.
Oh…thanks for your reply. This is a new word for a new ‘baker’!
Have a wonderful christmas and happy holidays!
Never had cheese bread before. Looks superb yummy…owhhh. Do you know if there’s any shop offers this in Malaysia?
Not sure about Malaysia, you can try Brazilian restaurants.
That looks wonderful.
have never heard of brazilian cheese bread but this looks so good! when you said bread, i was worried abt having to knead dough/let it rise etc etc but there’s none of that here. cant wait to try out this recipe!
Lingzie – there is no need to knead and I am a baking klutz and I can totally do it. Practically done in 30 minutes. So easy and delicious. :)
This bread looks so soft and moist! Merry Christmas to you!
that looks delicious! just wanted to know what would be a substitute for the tapioca flour?
i just have wheat flour, corn flour, all purpose flour and maize flour…
I don’t think so, you need tapioca starch/flour.
Great photo! You can pick up the Minas Gerais cheese at the Brazilian Mercado on Venice Bl in Culver City. Other cheeses will work of course if you can’t find the queijo Minas, but it’s a whole different bite with that Minas Gerais cheese, now imported from Brazil. Bom apetite!
Thank you, would love to try it with a Brazilian cheese for authenticity.
I never tried Brazilian cheese bread before and this looks very tempting to make. The recipe seems quite simple. If I can’t find tapioca flour, what would be the good substitute?
I am not sure. You should be able to find it at Asian stores, or where you get Asian ingredients.
I just just made these! AMAZINGLY SIMPLE! So little to wash up! I’m bringing this over for a Xmas Eve Dinner later tonight.
Thanks for saving my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great Xmas holiday and a very happy new year ahead, to you and your lil family! :D
hi! these look yummy! when u say ‘scant 1 1/2 cup’,it actly means 170g of tapioca flour?
Yes, correct.
these look so cute! I am thinking about making these cuties, but all i have at home is just bread flour. Can i use bread flour instead or do i really need to use tapioca flour?
Tapioca flour only.
Here in Brazil we use cassava starch for the recipe. Never saw anyone using tapioca flour before (but that’s just me). Tapioca flour might be easier for you to find, though.
I’ve been reading Rasa Malaysia for such a long time, it’s really an honor to have a brazilian recipe here. Thank you so much :)
Thaisa – thanks so much for your comment, I will try to look for cassava starch. Do you have a recipe that you can share?
Sure, but it’s almost the double of your recipe (30 portions). Is it ok?
Sure, please let me know. By the way, just found out that tapioca starch is made from cassava.
1/2 cup of soy oil
1 cup of milk
3 eggs
250gr of half-cured cheese (from Minas Gerais, but you can use parmesan cheese)
1/2 kg of cassava starch
1 teaspoon of salt
Pre-heat the oven in medium high. Put the cassava starch in a bowl. Boil the cooking oil, the milk and salt together. As soon as they boiled turn off the heat and mix them with the cassava starch with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one by one until the it’s kinda loose but good enough to work it with your hands. Add the cheese and mix it. Make small balls with your hands and put them side by side in a pan with enough space so they don’t touch each other. Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they become golden brown at the bottom.
Enjoy :)
Hopefully i could be of some help and i’m sorry if there’s anything mistranslated.
Hi Thaisa, thanks for your recipe. I will try it out. :)
Absolutely great. My wife, who does not like cheese, devoured these. Took some to a party last night, should have baked more. As with every recipe I have tried from your site, it was excellent. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Mark, glad even your wife loved it. :)
Bee,
I always thought tapioca starch is the same as the starch extracted from the cassava root?
Betty, yes I think so.
have never heard of brazilian cheese bread but this looks so good! when you said bread, i was worried abt having to knead dough/let it rise etc etc but there’s none of that here. cant wait to try out this recipe!
It’s great. You should try it out.
I have just made this bread and eaten 3! wow, making it is so fun and eating it is so nice. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy New Year.
look delicious, yummy…!!! want to try it, search tapioka strach first(:
Is the batter of the pao de queijo thick enough to form balls?
Yes.
Omg looks so delicious! But just wondering if i were to use the normal cupcakes size pan, is the temp and cooking time still the same as the mini ones?
I am not sure but temp should be the same. As long as they puff up and turn very light brown they are good!
ahh..will try tat nxt week.. thanks for the recipe!! =)
Hi, I tried to make them, however they’re kinda chewy, is that how it’s suppoed to taste?
Yes, mild tasting and chewy, can spread some jam inside it, it’s great.
Yeah…they actually taste better now, my hubby can’t stop eating them. Thanks. I love your blog, can’t wait to see your cookbook.
Thanks for this recipe (and for your website). I have tried it several times, and I LOVE them. But I do have one question: Although the texture outside is perfect, the center appears semi-translucent and the texture is a little gummy. I have tried baking them longer, but they still appear that way, and only the outside gets more crisp. Is this how the center should be? (Oddly enough, the day after I bake them, the center actually changes into a more bread-like look and texture).
Thanks again, I look forward to your book!
Hi Mo, yes, it’s supposed to be gummy. Just the outside is crispy, but chewy inside. :)
Hi Bee, I hope you are enjoying motherhood!
I made the cheese bread today and was wondering if they are really supposed to be super moist and elastic in the middle? I didn’t have a mini-muffin pan, so I just used the regular sized ones. I did bake them for more than 20 min. Is there a way to salvage the batch, can I re-bake them for a few min. considering they have already cooled?
No, it’s not supposed to be moist in the center. Chewy yes.
Yes, you can rebake.
Hi I’ve made these using recipes I’ve found online but they don’t quite taste exactly like those sold in bakeries, albeit they’re quite similar. Hmm
I’m wondering if you’ve tried the bread from provenance in Singapore or sun moulin at the basement of shaw?? Because these buns are sold there and I’m wondering if you know how to duplicate them? (:
Oh and I’m wondering if the type of cheese used matters, I tried with cheddar an parmesan and once with parmesan but both were rather similar.
Also, I do not like the smell of olive oil when baking- will it be better if i use butter or are there any better alternatives??
Cheers, Fiona (:
I tried using mozzarella. The taste is similar to Provence but the skin is not as crispy. This skin is smoother and oiler.
YES! I finally found a pao de queijo recipe that is simple! I’m korean but born and raised in brazil. i never knew how to make pao de queijo, i’d either buy them or make them from the packages where u just mix water (by the way, those are terrible!) but ill definitely try these out and see how they are. thank yoU!
I wound up doubling the recipe, and to one half I made it as written (with a bit less salt) and the second (and third) batch I added more salt and more cheese. They were good, but chewy. I shared them with a Colombian and he said they were just like a South American bread he grew up with and he loved them. My family devoured them, so they must have been alright :P
Thanks for always having amazing recipes!
Just made this earlier – I must have overbaked the first batch cos’ they turned out hard & crispy but yummy all the same! The second batch was much better – crunchy on the outside & chewy on the inside. Thanks for the recipe ! By the way, I wonder if I could omit the cheese & make it plain, to eat with kaya? They do remind me of ‘kaya balls’ !
OMG thank you so much for posting this! I work at a bank and one of our clients brought in these amazing rolls a couple of times and each time I have missed him and didn’t have a chance to ask him for the recipe. I also had a hard time finding the recipe online because if you look up cheese and rolls you will come up with a million plus results. I didn’t know these were Brazilian rolls. I am so excited to try this recipe out! Thanks again!
Great recipe, easy to make and delicious to eat. Very convenient for working mums. My kids like them too.