I made some  quick and easy cheese buns that my family really enjoyed. They taste a lot like the Chebe mixes, probably due to the tapioca  flour and that both breads are versions of the Brazilian cheese bread “pao de queijo.” I have read that these buns are traditionally served for breakfast or snacks and often sold by street vendors; but we ate ours at dinner.

I adapted a recipe from King Arthur Flour, but the other recipes I have looked at were almost identical. King Arthur definitely didn’t invent these rolls The texture is light and airy and I think they could be seasoned with herbs and spices if desired.

And just as an extra bit of information, we use the terms tapioca starch and tapioca flour interchangeably here in the United States; which I find confusing. For one thing, potato starch and potato flour are NOT the same thing. So, just when I thought I got the tapioca thing figured out, I discovered that tapioca flour is also known as manioc, yuca, and cassava flour. Wow! This is a lot to remember.

Brazilian Cheese Buns

• 1/2 cup butter or olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups tapioca flour (I use Bob’s Redmill)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, Roman, or Asiago cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment or silpat mats.
2. Place tapioca flour in bowl of a stand mixer.
3. Put butter, water, milk and salt in a saucepan and heat over medium until it comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and pour over the tapioca flour and beat to combine. Beat at high speed until the mixture becomes smooth and elastic, this happens pretty quickly.
4. Add the garlic and cheese and mix to combine. At this point, touch the dough, if it feels very hot let it cool a few minutes before proceeding. The dough should be warm or hot, but not burning hot; you don’t want to cook the eggs when you add them.
5. With the mixer running, add the eggs slowly, beating until combined. The dough will look somewhat lumpy.
6. Drop the dough onto prepared pans, I made mine about 1/4 cup sized balls, and bake 15-20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve hot; these really taste best fresh, we have found that leftovers do not refrigerate well.

Breads Brazilian Cheese Buns, Gluten free cheese buns, Gluten free rolls