Cheese bread in Brazil is a national dish that can be found in almost any bakery. More of a puff than a roll, the pao de queijo is similar in flavor and texture to the French gougère.
While pao de queijo is traditionally eaten at breakfast with a cup of coffee, it can be enjoyed any time of day. Street vendors and bakeries often sell variations on the traditional recipe, offering cheese breads stuffed with fruit, vegetables, and meat.
In its purest form, Brazilian cheese bread is a bite-sized, crispy, chewy, gooey piece of Heaven. It is all-too easy to eat six or seven without batting an eye. Luckily, pão de queijo is relatively simple to make at home, so you don’t have to worry about running out.
Brazilian cheese bread requires only a few ingredients, the most unusual of which in America is the cassava flour. However, this is readily found in most grocery stores. Another version you may be more familiar with is “tapioca flour.” Both tapioca and cassava flour come from the cassava root. The main difference is that tapioca has a slightly higher starch content, which makes it a superior thickener.
This version adds a savory stuffing made from Brazilian sausage, or linguiça. Linguiças are made from minced pork and calabrese peppers, giving them a unique, zesty flavor that perfectly compliments the sweet, mild taste of the cheese. The taste is something akin to sausage rolls, but more delicate.
Brazilian sausage is available raw or smoked. We are using the smoked version in this recipe, since it adds another depth of flavor and makes it that much easier, since we won’t need to cook and drain the sausage.
Sausage Stuffed Brazilian Cheese Bread
Ingredients:
16 oz tapioca or cassava flour
8 oz whole milk
2 oz vegetable oil
1 ½ cups grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1.5-2 tsp salt
½ pound smoked Brazilian sausage
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chop your smoked sausage so it is roughly minced.
- Put milk, oil, and salt into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once the milk mixture has come to a boil, put it in a stand mixer along with the tapioca flour. Mix on medium speed until everything is evenly incorporated. At this point, the batter will be sticky and have some lumps.
- Let the dough cool for five minutes, then add the eggs one at a time on medium speed. The dough will look a little smoother now.
- Once the eggs are mixed in, add your cheese and minced Brazilian sausage and mix just to combine.
- Shape the dough into 2” balls and put them a few inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. A 2” ice cream scoop makes measuring very easy. Also, if you find the dough is sticking to your hands, wet them with a little cold water or use some vegetable oil.
- Bake the stuffed cheese puffs in the oven until they are lightly golden, which takes about 30 minutes. Enjoy fresh from the oven.
Freezer tip: these snacks are very convenient to have on-hand for family get togethers or Game Day. Make the dough balls ahead of time and allow them to freeze on a cookie sheet. Then put the frozen cheese bread in a freezer safe bag. When you are ready to eat, cook them just the same as you would fresh. They will keep for up to three months.
Try Brazilian Sausage and Pao de Queijo at Texas de Brazil
Let us do the cooking for you! Visit one of our 50+ locations to try delicious, authentic Brazilian cuisine. Our cheese bread is a customer favorite, and our own brand of Brazilian sausages have a light, sweet heat you won’t find anywhere else. Book your table today or go online to our Butcher Shop to have some of our best cuts of meat, including our smoked sausages, delivered right to your door.