After a lot of trial and error (mostly trial), I’ve finally got a killer combo that works, and I’ve documented it. This is what you need to make some awesome Pão de Queijo (aka Brazilian Puffy Cheese Bread things):
I’m using extra sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese. Is that the real way of making it? Probably not. Shut up and preheat your oven to 400°F (204.444444 C?).
- About 1 cup of cheese (about 3/4 finely shredded cheddar, and about 1/4 grated parmesan). I also shook the cup a lot while I was shredding so that the cheese settled, and I could cheat some extra cheese in.
- 1.5 cups of tapioca flour
- 3/4 cup of whole milk
- 1/3 cup of oil (I used a combo of sunflour oil, about 1/4 cup, and extra virgin olive oil the rest of the way).
- one egg.
Keep some Fleur de Sel or sea salt aside for later.
Throw everything into a blender and blend it until its smooth and you don’t see chunks of anything.
Then pour all the gook into a mini muffin pan. NOW sprinkle some salt over the top. I like using fleur de sel because it’s not as overbearing as table salt, and the salt crystals are very light, sometimes even hollow, providing a nice salty crunch. I know it sounds stupid, but trust me.
Stick it in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown over the top (don’t let them brown over completely unless you want them to be chewy). That’s all. Thank you and Jah bless.
