Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread – GF

Brazilian Cheese Bread is English for Pão de Queijo.  GF is the abbreviation for gluten free. So this is a yummy and delicious gluten free cheese bread from Brazil that just happens to be very easy to make!  These rolls are a popular Brazilian snack.  They are cheesy and chewy and perfect for snacking or as an accompaniment to any meal.  They are more or less a cheesy popover of sorts, so they are best eaten right away, but you can freeze any leftovers and heat them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up the exterior.

Easy Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread

1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour (starch)*
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Use cooking spray (we like coconut oil) or use butter, and grease a muffin pan.  You can use a mini muffin tin with 24 openings which we prefer, or use a standard muffin tin with 12 openings.  Mix all the ingredients in  blender, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender if necessary.  Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tin openings.  If you are using the mini muffin tin bake for 10-12 minutes until the rolls are lightly browned.  If using the standard muffin tin, bake for about 20 minutes.  Allow the rolls to sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, after you remove them from the oven.  Serve immediately with butter.  (You don’t have to serve them with butter, but we think everything tastes better when you do) 🙂

* Tapioca flour (or as it is sometimes called, tapioca starch) is found in most grocery store chains. You can certainly find it at Whole Foods or order it on Amazon.   Bob’s Red Mill is another good and more common brand and it can be found on the baking aisle at many larger grocery stores.  If you can’t find tapioca flour you can substitute corn starch or potato starch or even rice flour instead.  None of these have gluten in them.