Comfort Me with Carbs: Brazilian Pão de Queijo from Uxua in Bahia

We're baking our way around the world, stopping at dreamy Uxua Casa Hotel and Spa in beautiful Bahia, Brazil, for their recipe for pão de queijo. Because the only thing more comforting than bread is bread with cheese.

PÃO DE QUEIJO from UXUA

INGREDIENTS

4 c. polvilho (tapioca flour)
2 c. whole milk
1 c. sunflower oil
2 c. grated meia cura cheese (Meia cura is a hard cheese from Minas Gerais, Brazil. You can substitute a hard mild cheese, like parmesan, or a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella.
3 eggs
Salt (around 2 tsp.)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 390 degrees.

2. Grate cheese and set aside. 

3. Pour sunflower oil, milk, and salt into a large saucepan and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately and stir in tapioca flour until smooth. If you run out of liquid ingredients while you still have dry flour, add a cup of boiling water into the mix. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined. The mixture should be chunky like cottage cheese. 

4. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. Leave about an inch of space in between.

5. Bake for around 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Read more about Trancoso and Uxua on Fathom and get more global bread recipes.