Kitchen File: Pao de Queijo

Pao de Queijo is literally translated from Portuguese to mean Cheese Bread. I am very addicted to these little balls of cheese and the fact that they are made with non-glutenous starch has this diabetic salivating.

I've done a lot of research on recipes, trying as many of them as I can to arrive at that perfect taste - you know the one that matches the taste of the bread that comes out on your table at the Brazilian Churrascarias ... In my search for cheesey bread perfection, I admit that I faux-pas'd on the starch (the fault of a bad recipe) and my promise of perfection came out hard as a rock. I want to take this time to acknowledge my little doggies who always promise to pretend that no matter what I make it is the best thing they've ever tasted - even if it does turn out like stone... I love you guys!

The following is the culmination of my cooking disasters and is the golden road to my greatest bread making achievement yet - I promise you'll be addicted in no time!

Ingredients:
2 cups of Tapioca Starch or Manioc Starch (See note below)
½ cup of Butter
¼ cup of Canola Oil
1 cup of Whole Milk
1 tsp of Salt
2 cups of Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 eggs

Utensils:
Mini Muffin Pan
Mixing Bowl
Wooden Spoon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine milk, canola oil, butter, and salt together in a sauce pan until it boils or froths (“Wets”)
Pour Tapioca Starch into a mixing bowl
Pour the Wets onto the Tapioca Starch and mix together with a wooden spoon
Let sit for 20 minutes
Fold in 2 eggs
Fold in Parmesan

Do not do this out of order. You won't achieve ultimate cheesey-breadness otherwise. Mix the batter until it becomes smooth. You should not expect a bread dough, but rather a thick batter.

Grease the mini muffin pan and fill up the cups half way.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You'll know that you did something right when the bread starts to poof out.

Note: Some recipes you will find ask that you use Manioc Flour. DO NOT DO THIS. Manioc Flour and Tapioca Starch (or Manioc Starch) are actually quite different forms of carbohydrates. If you use Manioc Flour, your cheesey bites will become cheesey-stones. Some awesome people have been able to actually form a dough in their recipes - I am not one of them. But, I have found that when you make Pao de Queijo from a batter versus with a dough, they seem to come out more like pop-overs, and are more airy, which is perfect for me.... Now all I need is some Samba music...