This Brazilian cheese bread is the perfect Latin rendition of dinner rolls. They are incredibly more-ish, free from dairy and naturally gluten free thanks to the use of tapioca flour. Crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. I promise you won't want to share them!!

If you are bored of dinner rolls then feast your eyes and tantalise your tastebuds with this dairy free version of this cheesy bread also known as Pao de queijo.

A bread that is super tasty and unforgivable, suitable for most dietary requirements.

I'm really excited to share this dairy free Brazilian cheese bread recipe with you all. I first tried pao de queijo several years ago at a Brazilian restaurant.

It was the name more than anything that intrigued me to place an order and I'm so glad that I did because I am officially hooked.

Over the years I started to toy around with the idea of making a dairy free version at home.

I searched the internet, high and low to give me some ideas of how to get the same consistency that I had it at the restaurant.

If you are familiar with this cheese bread then you will realise that the texture and appearance varies from person to person. Most of the images online display a bread that is light, airy, with a soft puffy smooth top.

My recipe is crispy but more dense compared to what you see online. The more runny the batter the more smooth, light and airy the bread will be.

After trying the bread a million times now I prefer a more chewy bread with a hint of denseness to it.

Please do be mindful that my rendition is slightly dense because I DID NOT use a blender to blitz the ingredients and the dry ingredients are a higher ratio to the wet ones.

Ingredients you will need

Reasons to make the cheese balls

It's naturally gluten free thanks to the use of tapioca (think cassava dumplings)
A great alternative to dinner rolls
It has an exotic, Brazilian flare to it
Incredibly more-ish and addictive (you were warned)

The best dairy free cheese to use

This cheese bread is known for its gooeyness so if you want to replicate the results as you would with animal cheese than it's best to use storebought cheese.

If possible you will want to use a cheese that melts and/or a dairy free mozzarella.

Here are a few recommended brands;

Daiya Mozzarella Cheese Shreds
Applewood Vegan Cheese
Bute Islands Sheese

Of course, if there is a preferred brand you like, then simply use that instead.

These are the same brands that I use to make my Pasta Bake, Vegan Mac and Cheese and Philly Cheesesteak Omelette

A naturally grain free bread

The good thing about this cheesy bread is that it's made with tapioca flour which derives from cassava (a tubular root vegetable).

Tapioca is naturally gluten free which is good news for celiacs or the wheat intolerant as there were not flour substitution to be made.

I also went one step further by preparing the bread with almond milk and dairy free butter. Again these adjustments had absolutely no bearing on the end result.

I even got a few of my non dairy free cohorts to sample the finished product and told them after they had eaten it, that the cheesy bread was free from dairy and they didn't believe me.

That just shows the power of gluten and dairy free appetisers - speaking of which. You can have this Latin bread as a quick snack to nibble on during the day or simply impress your dinner guests with it as an appetiser.

The steps

Preheat the oven to 200c/4oof/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment paper
Place the tapioca flour is a medium sized bowl along with the pink salt.
Meanwhile, bring the oil and milk to a boil once boiled allow the milk to cool down slightly.

Pour the warm milk mixture into the bowl with the flour and stir until you achieve a sticky type of dough
Pour in the egg and combine
Finally fold in the cheese (if you want some cheese bits on the outside) then leave some of the cheese exposed on the outside the balls.
Shape the dough into balls, size according to what you prefer (big or small, oval etc...) then place the cheese balls onto the parchment paper, spreading them out so they don't overcrowd.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and puffed up
Serve warm if possible

Can Brazilian cheese bread be frozen?

Good question! The answer is yes. I would suggest making the dough balls first. Placing them on a baking tray with parchment paper than part freeze them before transferring them to a ziplock bag.

Be sure to completely thaw out the dough balls before baking them.

How should you store your cheese bread?

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Can I use homemade cheese to make this recipe?

No, it's best to use with storebought dairy free cheese or nutritional yeast for that cheese flavour/taste

The batter came out runny, can I still make the recipe?

Not sure why this has happened but all is not lost as you can simply distribute the runny batter into mini muffins tins and bake them in there instead.

Is there a way to make the bread without baking it?

Yes, once you have placed the batter onto the parchment paper, part freeze (2-4 hours) remove the the tray and store in zip lock bag.

When you are ready to bake, place them on parchment paper and bake for double the time, keeping an eye on them.

Notes and tips

Shape the dough balls as you prefer, small dough balls will make a batch of roughly 16. Dome shaped dinner balls will make about 10-12
If the batter is runny for whatever reason, you can salvage it by pouring it into a muffin pan instead.
To make this recipe vegan use an egg replacer such as Bob Red Mills.
If you veganised the recipe, it's best to test it first with only one cheese balls and adjust the dough accordingly (adding more milk, flour etc..) if required
For best results use tapioca FLOUR NOT Starch because the starch will yield a gumminess to the bread.
The colour of your cheese bread will vary depending on the type of cheese you use and also how well the cheese is mixed into the dough. Any deposits of exposed cheese will turn golden as it is baked.
DO NOT use cornstarch, coconut flour, arrowroot or potato starch, it simply doesn't behave like tapioca does and by using any of the aforementioned you will ruin the recipe (you were warned).
Keep in mind the texture will be a cross between a pliable dough/choux pastry.
If you are familar with Brazilian cheese bread and want a light, puffy airy bread then you will need to thin out the recipe and use a blender but this recipe is specific tailored for the dense version.

Healthy appetizers to try

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