Pao de Queijo, a Brazilian Love Language — Tiny Spoon Chef

Chef Robert A is swinging through the blog to deliver a seriously scrumptious recipe to the table.

Prepare yourself. Meet Brazilian Cheese Bread or Pao de Queijo!

Read on for the full rundown or take me to the recipe!

Like many cultures around the world, food offers a sense of community and well-being.

Food is often the focal point of gatherings and meet ups, an excuse to get together and ‘catch-up.’ Brazilians are people obsessed with ‘getting to know you’, you - the person they’ve never met before or the person they’ve known all their lives. They are friendly and selfless people, almost to a fault and they’ve designed their culture around inclusivity and reckless acts of kindness. It’s no wonder their food should do the same, offering yet another excuse to gather and learn all they can about the lives of those around them.

The initial taste of Brazilian cuisine often begins with the famous Churrasco or Brazilian-style Barbecue, where the aroma of sizzling skewered meats dances between tables, captivating all who indulge.

Exciting and flavorful in every aspect, yet for many, the exploration of Brazilian cuisine often ends at the steakhouse without venturing further.

But hidden within the vibrant Brazilian food culture are some undiscovered treasures that often go unnoticed and unmentioned, except by those in the inner circle. Allow me to unveil one of these culinary delights that may have slipped under your radar without your knowledge.

Allow me to introduce you to Pao de Queijo, or Brazilian Cheese bread.

Pao de Queijo is arguably one of the most popular baked good you’ll find in Brazil, every bakery pumps out thousands a day to hungry patrons. Here we’re going to make an at home version with ingredients you’ll be able to find at your local grocery store. Recipe

Here is the list of ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 2/3 Cup of Olive Oil
• 1 1/3 Cup of Milk
• 3 Cups of Tapioca Flour
• ½ Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• ½ Cup of Shredded Mild Cheddar 
• 1T Kosher Salt

These are all the ingredients needed to recreate this famous dish, aside from an oven and a muffin tin you’re all set to begin.This recipe should yield about 2 batches depending on the size of your baking tin.

First, we’ll start by preheating out oven to 400 degrees. Once we’ve gathered all our ingredients together, we’ll start to prep them. Gather all out measuring cups and mixing bowls and set them aside for later use. If our cheeses came in block form this will be the time to begin shredding to get it ready for mixing.

Start by measuring out all your ingredients according to the instructions described above and add all your ingredients to a mixing bowl/food processor/or stand mixer to combine. 

*Pro-Tip! Tapioca flour is notoriously difficult to combine with liquid ingredients so as to avoid frustration, add all ingredients, except the Tapioca flour, together first and then slowly add the Tapioca flour in little by little.*

Once all the ingredients are combined and look like the image you can start to oil your muffin tin. I used Olive Oil but you can use any fat source you have available (Butter, Avocado Oil, Shortening…).

After your tin is well oiled you can begin to ladle your mixture into the tin leaving a little room at the top rim to let the Cheese Bread grow.

At this point your oven should be nice and toasty, ready for your cheese bread to start the baking process.

Place your muffin tin in the middle of the oven and let it do it’s thing. Set a timer for 15-20 minutes depending on the strength or heat of your oven, check periodically of unusual browning on the corners of your tin and rotate the tray, if necessary, halfway through the cook.

Once your first timer goes off test the center of the cheese bread with a cake prod or a small knife in the center of a couple of the breads.
If the tip comes out clean you’re ready to take them out and rest, if not add an additional 5 minutes and check again later.

After you remove the tray form the oven, let them rest on a resting rack or on your stovetop for at least 10 minutes before handling.

At this point they should be cool enough to remove from the tin and ready to eat. If you have leftover batter, repeat the process of oiling up the tray and baking at the same temperature.

Once all are cooled you are ready to enjoy!

Congratulations! You are now the proud parent of your very own batch of Pao de Queijo!

These are best eaten fresh with a nice cup of coffee or espresso but are also great heated up in a toaster oven the next day (if they last that long). You can also freeze what remains for up to 2 weeks. Remove them from the freezer to thaw first before reheating.

Want us to make some Pao de Queijo of your own?!