Feta Pão de queijo
A feta version of one of Brazils most beloved recipes !
Brazilian cheese bread (also known as Pão de queijo) is a popular snack or breakfast food in Brazil and for a very good reason! They are cheesy, stretchy, gooey and utterly addictive. I love having them with some butter or with a warm soup or stews in the winter as a side.
This version uses Feta cheese instead of mozzarella for a cheesier and more savoury flavour than the original recipe.
The secret to this bread unique texture is in the tapioca flour, not only it makes it completely gluten free but also adds a stretchy and mochi-like texture thanks to its high starch content. Tapioca starch is derived from cassava/yuca root and is produced by extracting only the starch content from this tuber. Although it has similar properties when cooking to cornstarch, it becomes stretchy once it reaches a high temperature which is the secret behind the amazing texture of this cheesy bread.
🌱Vegetarian
🍽️ 6 breads
Ingredients
160g milk
45g olive oil
300g tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
180g feta
Method
Bring the milk and oil to a boil in a sauce pan. Once it reaches the boiling point remove from heat
Add the tapioca starch to a bowl and then pour the hot milk and oil mix over and quickly mix with a wooden spoon until obtaining a dough (you can use your hands after mixing it well with the spoon to help the dough come together). Add the egg, salt, baking powder and mix again. Finally add the crumbled feta cheese and knead until obtaining a dough, it should be a bit sticky but firm enough to shake it into balls. Cover with some cling film or a cloth and leave in the fridge for at least 30min so the dough cools down and it is easier to shape
Divide the dough in 6 equal pieces. Take each piece of dough and shape into balls with your hands. Place balls onto an oven tray covered with parchment paper. Brush each ball with some oil (or melted butter). Additionally you can add some sesame seeds on top
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 25 min until they get a light golden brown colour
FAQS and Tips
You can make the dough in advance, wrap it in cling film and keep it in the fridge until ready to bake
You can skip the egg but the result wont be as fluffy as when egg is added in
