Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread! And with absolutely no oil.

A couple of months back, I saw this very interesting and easy Brazilian Cheese Bread on TikTok. I tried it and whilst it was an easy recipe, the texture was gooey and what truly failed was it was really too oily!

The Sugar Crumble didn’t give up though as she liked the idea of an easy-to-make cheesy crisp puff bread which will be perfect for stews and curries. This is her version, ridiculously easy with NO OIL and prepped in 2 minutes in a blender.

Made without oil!

Cheesy, crispy Brazilian Cheese Bread with a soft chewy porous centre that soaks up sauces and stews wonderfully. Super easy to make and divine served freshly baked, straight from the oven. 

What is Brazilian Cheese Bread?

Brazilian cheese bread or Pão de Queijo is a kind of chewy baked cheese puff typically made with tapioca flour and gluten free. Bit of history – this bread was birthed during the times of colonization, enslavement and capitalism in Minas Gerais, Brazil in the 1700s. The locals then, rolled the starchy leftovers of the cassava root into little balls and baked them to fill tummies.

As life got better, eggs, oil, milk and cheese were added for a richer and tastier cheese bread. Today, it is a popular snack in Brazil often eaten with jam or sweet spreads or simply as a side to savory stews. Because it is typically made with tapioca flour, the texture is chewy which may not be for everyone. (See Note 2 below)

Porous centre soaks up sauces wonderfully

The Sugar Crumble’s version of Brazilian Cheese Bread is adapted for her household, made without oil and added wheat flour for a more porous and less gooey texture which we like. This Brazilian Cheese Bread is crisp on the outside and cheesy and soft chewy inside, perfect for mopping up that last bit of delicious stew or curries!

And it is simple to prep and bake, just 3 easy steps. 

Step 1

Mix all the ingredients (except the cheese) in the blender until smooth.

Step 2 

Add in the cheese and pulse just a few times so that it is still chunky.

Step 3

Pour into cupcake moulds, top with more cheese (optional) and bake @180C for 15 minutes until fully risen and golden and serve immediately.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS

If you like this recipe tutorial and like to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel here 😊 

If you like my Brazilian Cheese Bread, you may also like my Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca) and these other recipes:

• Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca)
• Easy Artisan Bread
• Sweet Bread Roll
• Homemade Strawberry Jam
• Coconut Blue Pea Lime Rice

What to note …

Note 1: Equipment – the key to success for this recipe is essentially a good blender or food processor. A good blender does all the work and makes this Brazilian Cheese Bread a quick, easy and No Fail recipe. 

Super easy blender prep

Note 2: Type of flour – I substituted half of the tapioca flour with all purpose flour in this recipe to get the texture that I like. Tapioca flour gives the cheese bread that chewiness but using 100% tapioca flour made it too gooey for our taste. To make it gluten free, I also tried substituting using rice flour instead of wheat flour but sadly the rice flour was not able to give it that structure and only made it more dense which was a FAIL.

Using Wheat flour (top) vs Rice flour (bottom)

Thankfully today, one has the luxury of wheat flour which was not available during that time to the folks when Brazilian Cheese Bread was created; so by all means, use 100% tapioca flour or tweak the proportion with wheat flour, a little more, a little less, if you like a more chewy texture. For the Sugar Crumble household, a 1:1 ratio of tapioca and wheat flour is our sweet spot.

Note 3: Type of cheese – I used red and white cheddar for this recipe but any combination of cheese can work. Mozzarella melted would give it a soft cheesy centre whilst Monterey Jack, cheddar, parmesan, gouda or even blue cheese adds a nice salty bite with a bite of oomph. I usually like to sprinkle a lot more cheese on top just before baking, in fact we like it the cheesier the better! Whatever the combination, go with your preference – be generous and add with exuberance!

Whatever combi, the cheesier the better!

Note 4: Oil or no oil? – when I first tried the Tiktok recipe, it called for 1/3 cup oil which turned out to be way too much. As I adapted this recipe, I decided to replace the oil with more milk to make it completely oil free and the cheese bread turned out beautifully. The moisture in this Brazilian Cheese Bread comes mainly from the fats in the eggs and cheeses and we like it that way. The only caveat may be that because this Brazilian Cheese Bread is oil free, it doesn’t store well as the cheese bread does not stay as moist when re-heated. Which is why we only serve this Brazilian Cheese Bread freshly baked! (See Note 5 and 6) If you would like to add a little oil, simply reduce the milk by the same amount.

Note 5: Make ahead – this Brazilian Cheese Bread is a great make ahead. The batter can be easily prepped a couple of days ahead and kept chilled in the fridge. Just before serving, pour the batter into moulds, top off with more cheese (if you like) and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. And Voila, you are serving up simply divine 5Star cheesy bread puffs, fresh from the oven!

Proudly risen and golden

Note 6: Do not store – this Brazilian Cheese Bread is made without oil and IMHO not suitable for storage. It loses moisture when re-heated and the texture becomes rather tough and too chewy. Because it is such an easy prep and the batter can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, we only serve this Brazilian Cheese Bread freshly baked at the table, and it never fails to be amazing that way. 

Cousin of yorkshire pudding perhaps?

Did you make this? I would love to know how it turned out. Tell me more 😊  Please leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram, FB hashtag #thesugarcrumble

Print Recipe

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread (No Oil)

A cheesy puff bread, crisp yet with a soft chewy porous centre that soaks up curries and stews wonderfully. Super easy and made with absolutely no oil.

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time17 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Brazilian

Keyword: Cheese bread

Servings: 6 portions

Author: Kai

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 150 ml milk ~175g
• 2 eggs ~ 98g without shell
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Optional: more cheese for topping

Instructions

• Put tapioca flour, milk, eggs and salt in a blender and pulse till smooth ~ 30 seconds.
• Add in the cheese and pulse just a few times to blend it in. You would want the cheese to still be chunky and not completely mixed in.
• Pour the batter into the cupcake tin, filling each mould almost fully. Optional: sprinkle more shredded cheese on top of the batter and bake @ 180C for 15 min until fully risen and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

If you like this recipe tutorial and like to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel here 😊

 

This Brazilian Cheese Bread can be prepared in just 3 simple steps:

 

Step 1 -  Mix all the ingredients (except the cheese) in the blender until smooth.

 

 

Step 2 - Add in the cheese and pulse just a few times so that it is still chunky.

 

 

Step 3 - Pour into cupcake moulds, top with more cheese (optional) and bake @180C for 15 minutes until fully risen & golden and serve immediately.

 

 

Note 1: Equipment - the key to success for this recipe is essentially a good blender or food processor. A good blender does all the work and makes this Brazilian Cheese Bread a quick, easy and No Fail recipe.

 

Note 2: Type of flour - I substituted half of the tapioca flour with all purpose flour in this recipe to get the texture that I like. Tapioca flour gives the cheese bread that chewiness but using 100% tapioca flour made it too gooey for our taste. To make it gluten free, I also tried substituting using rice flour instead of wheat flour but sadly the rice flour was not able to give it that structure and only made it more dense which was a FAIL. Thankfully today, one has the luxury of wheat flour which was not available during that time to the folks when Brazilian Cheese Bread was created; so by all means, use 100% tapioca flour or tweak the proportion with wheat flour, a little more, a little less, if you like a more chewy texture. For the Sugar Crumble household, a 1:1 ratio of tapioca and wheat flour is our sweet spot.

 

Note 3: Type of cheese - I used red and white cheddar for this recipe but any combination of cheese can work. Mozzarella melted would give it a soft cheesy centre whilst Monterey Jack, cheddar, parmesan, gouda or even blue cheese adds a nice salty bite with a bite of oomph. I usually like to sprinkle a lot more cheese on top just before baking, in fact we like it the cheesier the better! Whatever the combination, go with your preference - be generous and add with exuberance!

 

Note 4: Oil or no oil? - When I first tried the Tiktok recipe, it called for 1/3 cup oil which turned out to be way too much. As I adapted this recipe, I decided to replace the oil with more milk to make it completely oil free and the cheese bread turned out beautifully. The moisture in this Brazilian Cheese Bread comes mainly from the fats in the eggs and cheeses and we like it that way. The only caveat may be that because this Brazilian Cheese Bread is oil free, it doesn’t store well as the cheese bread does not stay as moist when re-heated. Which is why we only serve this Brazilian Cheese Bread freshly baked! (See Note 5 and 6) If you would like to add a little oil, simply reduce the milk by the same amount.

 

Note 5: Make ahead - this Brazilian Cheese Bread is a great make ahead. The batter can be easily prepped a couple of days ahead and kept chilled in the fridge. Just before serving, pour the batter into moulds, top off with more cheese (if you like) and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. And Voila, you are serving up simply divine 5Star cheesy bread puffs, fresh from the oven!

 

Note 6: Do not store - this Brazilian Cheese Bread is made without oil and IMHO not suitable for storage. It loses moisture when re-heated and the texture becomes rather tough and too chewy. Because it is such an easy prep and the batter can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, we only serve this Brazilian Cheese Bread freshly baked at the table, and it never fails to be amazing that way.