Pão de queijo

Pão de queijo (Portuguese: Cheese bread) is a type of small roll filled with cheese. It came from the Brazillian state of Minas Gerais. It is popular in Brazil as a breakfast or snack food.

Pão de queijo

Type	Bread
Course	Breakfast or snack
Place of origin	Brazil
Region or state	Minas Gerais
Main ingredients	Tapioca starch, cheese (usually Minas cheese)
Similar dishes	Gougère, Chipa
Cookbook: Pão de queijo   Media: Pão de queijo

Pão de queijo

History

Pão de queijo originally came from the Guaraní people. They used the local growing cassava root to make bread. Later, the salty Minas cheese, milk, and egg were added to enrich the dough.

Preparation

The dough is rolled into small balls, about 3–5 centimeters in diameter. Unlike other breads, the dough does not have any leavening agent to make it rise. There can also be other foods mixed into the cheese filling.

Availability

Brazil

Casa do Pão de Queijo at the Afonso Pena International Airport, in São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil.

In Brazil, pão de queijo is a popular breakfast dish and snack. It is still sold at snack bars and bakeries and it can also be bought frozen to bake at home. In Brazil, cheese puff mix packages are easily found in most supermarkets.

United States

With its growing popularity in the US, frozen packages of pão de queijo can now be found in some American grocery stores such as Costco, County Market, Publix, and Whole Foods. It is also on the menu of most Brazilian steakhouse restaurants.