There is nothing remotely Moroccan about this yucca bread but I just had to share it with you, dear reader. I like to call it my “Brazilian crush”. But I didn’t always know it was Brazilian.
I had it once at a bakery and that’s all it took for me to become enamored with its chewy texture and cheese puff taste somewhat reminiscent of gougères. I googled it, looked up every picture I could find of it until I found a match to what I had eaten.
One thing led to another and I discovered that it is called Pao de Queijo (cheese bread in Portuguese) and found quite a few good recipes of it. This one is adapted from different sources, mainly Simplyrecipes.com.
This bread is delightfully chewy. Perhaps the chewiest you’ll ever eat. It smells wonderful as it’s baking and puffs up like a soufflé when it’s ready, but collapses shortly after.
It is so easy to make. As easy as 1, 2, 3. Literally:
1. Preheat the oven.
2. Blend all the ingredients together in a blender.
3. Bake until golden and puffy.
Yucca Cheese Bread Recipe
Yield: Makes 8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups tapioca starch/flour
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unrefined brown sugar
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a nonstick muffin tin.
Step 2: Blend all the ingredients in an electric blender until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous batter.
Step 3: Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling each cup about halfway.
Bake until golden and puffy, 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Step 4: Eat warm. Reheat leftover bread before eating.
