Friday, July 5, 2013

Pao de Queijo (Brazillian Cheese Bread

Hey all, if you are looking for a healthy post, I'm sorry, I can't help you. This is definitely an everything in moderation scenario. Husband and I were at the farmer's market for our anniversary weekend and we stumbled across a new booth selling brazillian cheese bread. They had a HUGE sign that said GLUTEN FREE!!! so of course I had to sample and then inevitably purchase the treats. After demolishing the ones I bought in under an hour I knew I had to have them again. I went to my favorite gluten free store, Against the Grain and found that they sold the dough. So I bought that and ate it in about the same amount of time. Then I took to Google and Pinterest and found 4 different recipes for these delicious treats. I found some tapioca flour at Kitchen Kneads for a great price so it was just a matter of time. We tweaked this recipe a little by using Cojita cheese. We also were going to add diced jalapenos but decided to master the recipe first and then add the peppers. Consider it mastered. It was super easy! Thing 2 who is gluten free gobbled up 2 and a half of these things he calls cupcakes. Even super picky, super sweet niece ate one! I decided to use them as hamburger buns since we were having a 4th of July BBQ and oh my goodness. I am never eating a hambuger on a normal gluten free bun again! They even tasted better than normal buns or ciabattas! They are totally high calorie for which I apologize but it is a great gluten free alternative to a normal roll or bun or bread. 5 out of 5 stars and 2 thumbs way, way up!!! Just some advise, when it says serve warm, they mean it. Heat it in the microwave if you are eating it the next day. Also we didn't have to add any additional flour after the 3 1/2 cups.


Source: chefinyou.com
Serves: 8-12

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3-1/2 cups tapioca flour + 2 tbsp
  • 2 eggs slightly beaten
  • 1 cup grated farmer's cheese or any firm, fresh cows milk cheese (I used fresh Mozzarella)
  • 2-3 tbsp grated cheddar cheese (optional)
  • salt to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix milk, salt, vegetable oil and butter in a pot, and bring to a boil.
  2. As soon as it boils, remove from heat. Stir tapioca flour into the milk and butter mixture.
  3. Stir in the eggs and the cheese, and mix well.
  4. Let mixture cool for 15-30 minutes, so that it will be easier to handle.The recipe mentions refrigeration for 15 minutes. But if you see the picture below with the measurement they provided it was more of a bread broth and when I added extra flour it became like this. Much better. The measurement I have provided makes it easy to roll into balls.But then as I mentioned previously add it with discretion. Its still sticky but flouring your hands make it easier.
  5. With floured (tapioca flour) hands, shape the dough into small balls. and place them on a baking sheet.
  6. Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are puffed up and are golden. They will rise slowly and puff up mostly in the last 5 or 10 minutes. You know they are done when there is amazing aroma wafting (tapioc'ish (#!#$?) smell?), the bread puffs up with lots of cracks (looks like some dinosaur egg hatching!) and it gets this v. slight yellowish glow with flecks of yellow here and there (cheese flecks?)
  7. Serve warm
                
And yes, that is mayonaise and BBQ sauce dripping from my burger. Don't judge.