Pão de queijo

As with many campesino/na foods, the history of pão de queijo (cheese bread, pronounced something like: poun deh kayzho) does not appear to be well-documented. The consensus seems to be the origins of bread’s creation can be credited to enslaved people from African countries, forcibly taken to the Minas Gerais region of south-eastern Brazil, built on learnings from the area's indigenous people.

One of the ingredients that Portuguese colonisers allowed enslaved people to access was the root of manioca / mandioca (Manihot esculenta, also known as cassava), a plant native to Brazil and other parts of South America. More accurately, what they were given / left with was often the cloudy water that is a by-product of processing (learned from local Guarani / Tupi people) the grated root to detoxify it and make cassava flour. The residue of evaporating the water is a fine, white starchy powder (aka tapioca), which people made into balls to be roasted, baked or cooked on griddles.

Around 300 years ago, people in Minas Gerais began making cheese and – along with other dairy products and eggs – at some point this was added to the ingredients and pão de queijo was born. 

In the tangled webs of colonisation, the slave trade and other international movement of people, manioc crossed the Atlantic. Pausing to become the basis of bammy in Jamaica, it became a staple ingredient in some African countries, where its names include yuca and it is made into dishes such as fufu. Pão de queijo was taken to Japan by dekasegi, migrant workers returning to their roots, where it became pon de kejo. The plant also found its way to other parts of Asia, where the many uses of its starch include the ‘pearls’ in Taiwanese bubble tea. In the UK, it became (not so affectionately) known as frogspawn – a milky tapioca pearl pudding, perhaps descended from Indian recipes.

Ingredients

Makes 20-25 pieces

250g milk
125g butter
300g polvilho azedo (sour / fermented tapioca starch) and / or polvilho doce (the ‘sweet’ – but actually neutral – version)
2 medium eggs
100g queijo Minas* 
½ tsp salt (optional)

*Typically either a meia-cura (semi-cured) or curado (aged) version. Substitutions people suggest include grated cheddar, parmesan, Manchego and firm mozzarella, either alone or in various combinations.

Method

Bring the milk and butter to boiling point (in a pan or the microwave), remove from the heat and stir / whisk in the starch. 

Continue mixing / beating the mixture (with a wooden spoon or a mixer / food processor that’s up to the job) until it forms a glossy, very thick batter / very soft dough, which comes away from the pan / bowl. Cover the dough and leave to cool for about 10 to 20 minutes, so it’s still warm.

Mix in the eggs until fully-combined. You can then gently work the crumbled / grated cheese in until evenly distributed. If not baking straight away, cover the dough and put in the fridge, where it will keep for a couple of days.

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan / gas mark 7). Grease / oil a baking tray (flat or indented, such as one used for cupcakes, mince pies, jam tarts etc.), then lightly oil your hands and a tablespoon. Scoop up some of the dough, about the size of a golf ball (though you can make smaller or larger versions), make it into a ball, then place on the tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough.*

Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, check part-way through and turning the tray round if they are not cooking evenly.

Once the pães (plural of pão) are puffed up and lightly golden, remove them from the oven and tray, onto a wire rack to cool a little.

*A number of recipe writers say that you can place the tray in the freezer, then put the dough balls in a bag or container to keep frozen to defrost and bake at a later date.

See also

Cheesy bread bites

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Recipe text © Chris Young / www.realbreadcampaign.org

Reproduction prohibited without written agreement of the copyright holder.

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