Pão de Queijo — Brazilian Cheese Bread
There's no wheat flour in pão de queijo at all — the base is tapioca starch, and its distinctive chew comes from scalding that starch with hot milk and oil before the eggs and cheese go in. Skip that step and the recipe fails.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Calories
- 180
Pão de queijo is an everyday Brazilian breakfast: small rolls with a crisp shell and a chewy, cheesy inside. Best of all, it's naturally gluten-free — not a substitution or an adaptation, just what it is.
Method
-
1
Heat the liquid
Bring the milk, oil and salt to the boil in a small pan.
-
2
Scald the starch
Pour the boiling liquid over the tapioca starch all at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. It will look lumpy and rough — that's normal. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
-
3
Eggs and cheese
Beat in the eggs one at a time (a mixer helps), then the cheese. The dough will be sticky and soft.
-
4
Shape
Oil your hands and roll walnut-sized balls, spacing them on a lined tray.
-
5
Bake
200°C for 20-25 minutes until puffed and pale gold. Don't open the oven for the first 15 minutes.
-
6
Serve
Eat them hot — that's their best moment. Five minutes back in the oven revives them.
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Tips that actually matter
- Tapioca starch specifically — not cornflour, not rice flour. Nothing else gives that chew.
- The liquid must be genuinely boiling when it hits the starch. Merely warm gives a sandy dough.
- Shape and freeze the balls. They bake straight from frozen with 5 minutes extra.
- The sharp cheese carries the flavour; the mozzarella brings the stretch.
People also ask
Is it really gluten-free?
Completely — tapioca comes from cassava, not wheat. The recipe is gluten-free by origin, not by adaptation.
Why did mine come out flat?
The dough was too loose (too much oil or milk), or the oven wasn't hot enough. It must be at 200°C before the tray goes in.
Can I make them without eggs?
The eggs are what puff them. Without eggs they come out dense — edible, but not the same thing.
Cook mode
Pão de Queijo — Brazilian Cheese Bread
-
1
Heat the liquid
Bring the milk, oil and salt to the boil in a small pan.
-
2
Scald the starch
Pour the boiling liquid over the tapioca starch all at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. It will look lumpy and rough — that's normal. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
-
3
Eggs and cheese
Beat in the eggs one at a time (a mixer helps), then the cheese. The dough will be sticky and soft.
-
4
Shape
Oil your hands and roll walnut-sized balls, spacing them on a lined tray.
-
5
Bake
200°C for 20-25 minutes until puffed and pale gold. Don't open the oven for the first 15 minutes.
-
6
Serve
Eat them hot — that's their best moment. Five minutes back in the oven revives them.
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