Cheese Breads

Cheese bread is a traditional Brazilian appetizer that originated in the states of Minas Gerais. It is a soft and chewy snack that melts in your mouth and smells fantastic when baking. They are easily found everywhere in Brazil and always present in the menus of international Brazilian Barbecue restaurants.

This bread recipe uses tapioca flour instead of wheat flour and because they are so popular there are several versions of the original recipe. The one I am posting today is an easy version that is made in a blender and doesn’t involve rolling the dough in small balls. It is a  winner recipe in our home since it takes no more than 20 minutes to make.

To prepare this recipe you will need:

1 cup of milk

3 cups of tapioca flour

3 eggs at room temperature

½ cup of canola oil

1 teaspoon of salt

1 ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

2 muffin tins – 6 muffins each

Muffin paper cups

Start lining  your muffin tins with the paper cases and pre-heat the oven at 180o C. In case you don’t have two muffin tins bake the breads in two batches. I usually do this since I can’t find the two trays in my oven!

Next, in a blender, add the milk, the eggs, the oil, salt and tapioca flour. Mix for two minutes until the flour is totally incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a medium ball and mix the cheese in with a wooden spoon.

Fill the muffin tins with the bread mixture until each cup is ¾ full. Sprinkle some extra Parmesan cheese on top of each cup (this is optional and the quantity is really up to your taste). Bring the tins to the oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the breads are light golden. Make sure you don’t over bake them or they will turn out quite hard.

Remove the cheese breads from the muffin tin and let them cool for a bit. We like to eat our cheese breads warm.