TRADITIONAL PÃO DE QUEIJO
Ingredients
- 4 cups tapioca starch
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1½ oz butter
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 9 oz grated cheese of your liking (I used mild Edam cheese)
- 1 to 3 large eggs, lightly whisked
Instructions
- Heat milk, butter, and salt in a small sauce pan until it comes to a boil. Watch closely as it may boil over. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Sift tapioca starch into a large bowl. Pour the boiled (hot) mixture over the tapioca and start stirring with a fork. The milk mixture will not be enough to form a dough yet. You will have a lumpy mixture, that’s what it is supposed to be. Keep stirring with the fork, breaking down the lumps as much as you can, until the mixture cools down to warm.
- At this point, preheat your oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F).
- Add the grated cheese to the tapioca mixture and mix well, now using your hands. Add the whisked egg in small amounts until the dough comes together into a soft but pliable dough. Give it a gentle knead (just a few times) to ensure the dough is smooth.
- Form balls with the dough* – I weighed mine to be around 30-33 grams each – and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon mat or lightly greased with vegetable oil. If necessary, you can oil your hands to make shaping easier.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until they just start to brown on the bottom (lift them up to have a look). You may have golden spots of cheese on the crust (this seems to depend on the type of cheese you use). Don’t over-bake as they will get hard and bitter. Serve warm.
Notes
*At this point you can freeze the dough balls until needed. It’s best to place them on a tray lined with baking paper and covered over top with silver foil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how if you liked it in the comments below!