Today we’re going to learn to make pão de queijo, probably one of the most famous snacks to come from Minas Gerais, in the Southeast of Brazil.  In Minas Gerais and most other parts of the country, the crispy on the outside chewy on the inside “cheese bread,” is served fresh from the oven at breakfast or during an afternoon snack with coffee.  The main ingredient besides cheese is sweet cassava flour (also known as manion or yuca flour) which can be found in Brazilian stores, or large supermarket chains in the “International Foods,” aisle.

I’m going to share with you my Mineira mother’s recipe so I hope you enjoy and let us know how they came out!

Pão de Queijo (Cheese Bread/Bun)

Ingredientes (Ingredients)

- 1 pacote de polvilho doce de 500 gramas (500 g package of sweet cassava flour)

- 1 copo de leite (1 cup of milk)

- ½ copo de óleo vegetal (½ cup vegetable oil)

- sal a gosto (salt to taste)

- 2 ovos grandes (2 large eggs)

- ¾ kilo queijo minas ralado ( ¾ kg shredded Minas cheese)

Modo de Preparo (Preparation)

  1. Coloque o leite, óleo e sal em uma panela pequena e leva no fogo até ferver (Heat the milk, oil and salt in a small pan stirring until the mixture boils)
  2. Coloque o polvilho em uma vasilha grande (Place the cassava flour in a large bowl)
  3. Jogue a mistura quente na vasilha com o polvilho (Pour the heated mixture in the bowl with the flour)
  4. Mexe até esfriar (Mix until the mixture cools)
  5. Coloque os dois ovos, e depois o queijo aos poucos (Break the two eggs into the mixture and add cheese a little at a time)
  6. Vai mexendo com as mãos até a mistura desgrudar das mãos (Mix with your hands until the mixture comes off your hands easily)
  7. Fazer pequenas bolinhas e coloque em uma forma (Make small balls and place them on a clean pan)
  8. Coloque a forma no forno pre-aquecido em 150-200 graus celsius (Place the pan in a pre-heated oven at about 150-200 degrees celsius – about 350-400 degrees F)

Serve quente com café! (Serve warm with coffee!)

*If you do not have queijo minas, look for about 2 or 3 different shredded cheeses (about 3 of those Kraft packages usually works well) – at least one bitter like a parmesian and one not so bitter like a mozzarella should work well!

** This recipe makes a lot of pão de queijo. You can freeze whatever dough is leftover and keep a supply for whenever you have a craving!

KEYWORDS:

queijo

polvilho

colocar

mexer

panela

forma

vasilha

a gosto