Warning: Super old not very good picture alert. Yikes. I promise, I’ve gotten better since these were taken last year. Anyway. Whew. Sometimes we need to get a LOT of stuff done. My last two weeks have been hectic! Between college finals (and college final projects), this wonderful blog and church, time has been at a premium! But hectic or not, these cheese infused rolls helped out a ton! Because it’s cheese and bread. Another life lesson learned this week: If a problem can be fixed by playing peek-a-boo or by eating cheese-dough rolls, you’ll be ok.
I’ll be ok.
These are a form of the Brazilian pão de queijo (literally: cheese bread), where I’ve adapted the recipe to suit what we have available to us in American supermarkets. They don’t taste quite the same, but dang it all they’re great!
I discovered these rolls when I lived in Brazil. They were addictive. Every Monday, right on time, I’d grab my cheese roll from the bakery. My mouth still waters when I remember it. Pavlov would be proud.
The big thing with the cheese-dough rolls is that, as the name suggests, the cheese is mixed directly into the dough, giving a tremendously cheesy flavor throughout the entire roll. It also means that the rolls come out of the oven VERY crispy. I like crispy.
General rule of thumb with these rolls: there is no such thing as too much cheese. If somebody manages to put too much cheese into these rolls, I will award them my imaginary gold medal for unattainable culinary feats. Generally, as long as the dough is still somewhat doughy, then you’ll be just fine. And if it isn’t, just up the flour and water a wee bit.
Enjoy them! There are few pleasures in life like a good old cheese-dough roll! If you liked it, you’ll probably like some of my other Brazilian recipes as well! Keep coming to cook with me! I love having you here! It makes my day to know that you’re are cooking, and it flatters me immensely to know that you’re using my recipes!
- 3.5 cups flour
- 6 ounces cheese, shredded (any easily shredded cheese will work well here)
- 2 tsp salt, perhaps a little less if your cheese is salty
- 1-1.5 tsp yeast
- Combine all ingredients
- Add roughly 1 cup water -- you may need slightly more or less depending on where you live and other conditions
- Knead (or process) until slightly firm
- Let sit for an hour or more
- Divide up into small balls on a cookie sheet
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes
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