Note: *Tapioca flour is also known as Tapioca starch and the latter can be found in most Aussie mainstream supermarkets. Tapioca flour cannot be had so easily and on research I discovered the best place to get flour is in an Asian supermarket. I used Tapioca starch in this recipe.
My brother-in-law, Claudio, made these bread rolls for me to try on the last day of their stay here in Sydney a few weeks ago. He had sent me the recipe a few months previous to use on the blog but I never got round to doing so. I had really hoped to get some pics of Claudio making them himself but alas time wasn’t on our side that last day. They are amazing little puffs of bread, crispy on the outside, warm, soft and cheesy on the inside. They pair very well with a nice, thinly sliced salami and extra cheese slices. Always eat them warm straight from the oven.
INGREDIENTS
- 500g of tapioca flour* (see note below)
- 250g potatoes
- 250g grated mozzarella cheese
- 3 eggs
- 55g butter
- 4 tablespoons vegetable/canola oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 extra handfuls cheddar cheese, grated
- Few tablespoons extra milk
METHOD
- Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F
- Boil and mash the potatoes. Cool then squeeze through a potato ricer.
- Place all ingredients into a stand mixer (with paddle attachment a fixed) and mix until fully combined. If necessary add a little milk to form a soft dough.
- Make into small balls and bake in the oven for 20-30 mins, adding a dish with water to the oven to help keep the cheese bread moist whilst cooking. Cook until the balls are risen and lightly coloured. The dough may be kept in the fridge for three days, wrapped in a damp cloth. The formed balls may also be frozen.Makes about 40 pieces
Wow! I’d love to try this out as soon as I can find some tapioca flour! I lived in Brazil for some time when I was younger and haven’t had one of these in years! Out of curiousity, can this be made with normal flour instead?
No no no, you can’t! I ain’t sure where you are Angel, but there are Latinos everywhere, as well as Asians, so a good walk in your neighbourhoud should be enough to find either kind of minimarket…Pao de Queijo is in fact one of the easiest and quickest gluten-free snacks
Hi Katie, first time around and inclined to cook some of the recipes
As a Brazilian – and I guess your BIL is as well – it was really odd to see potatoes, butter and mozzarella/CHEDDAR in the recipe! The original cheese we use, but can’t find everywhere, is a cured mild one. What 99.9% of the recipes will tell you is to use parmesan instead. The elasticity of the balls comes from the tapioca starch mixed with a lot of hot milk and oil, not the cheese. The recipe can get even easier
)
What we do here in Malaysia is to make the balls, freeze them and put in the oven still frozen whenever we have last-minute guests: it adds crunchiness to the outer layer!
Last but not the least, in Brazil we have ‘polvilho doce’ and ‘polvilho amargo’ (sweet and bitter tapioca starch), and personally the only difference in use is that you need to pre-cook one and not the other…