I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

September 6, 2011

Pao De Queijo






What's Pao De Queijo you ask?







Well, it's a recipe I've meaning to make for a while now, and was finally spurred into action by the latest 'Feast' magazine.
Feast magazine is one of the latest foodie/cooking magazines, released by SBS, and with the by-line 'Experiencing life through food'. They have only been going for 2 months, but I like them so far and am enjoying the international focus you would expect from  multicultural SBS.

But I still haven't explained Pao De Queijo, have I?
Well it's a Brazilian cheese bread recipe that's naturally gluten free! And yummy as well, win-win. They're little baked buns that are usually eaten for breakfast or as snack food during the day. They're sold at street vendors, bakeries are even sold as pre-packaged mixes like cake mixes from supermarkets.


The bread is based on Tapioca flour. Now, you know I like to keep my recipe mostly accessible with mainstream supermarket ingredients, so don't worry, you can find Tapioca flour at most Woolies and Coles in the Asian food section for just a couple of dollars, or at any Asian grocery store.





The other main ingredient is cheese, but as we can't get original Brazilian, it can be successfully substituted with aged Parmesan, which is extremely low in lactose, so perfect for me too.

The recipe I used from Feast Magazine is under the heading- My Neighbours Kitchen, and is by Clara Luboss who was lucky enough to have had these made for her by her grandmother, and has had the recipe passed on to her through her mother, so you just know it must be good and has stood the test of time and hungry families! These are always the best ones, finely tuned to be whipped up in a hurry and served to your harshest critics indeed. She states that this is a twist on the traditional recipe, which is usually a much firmer dough and is rolled into balls before being baked. I don't know about you, but a recipe that is prepared in just one bowl, and is ready in 20 mins, sounds like a twist that works for me!

Pao De Queijo





450 g Tapioca Flour
250 ml lactose free milk
250 ml vegetable oil
120 g grated aged Parmesan Cheese
3 eggs
1 tsp salt









Mix all ingredients until smooth. It's recommended to use a blender, but just make sure it's lovely and smooth.




















Tapioca is a very, very fine starch even more so that cornflour, so be careful not to turn the machine on in a hurry and have it waft all over the kitchen dusting all surfaces liberally! Not that that's ever happened to me, of course :)




















Spray two standard muffin/cupcake pans with oil, and fill them 3/4 full with the batter. I made a half quantity of the batter, and found it filled one cupcake tray perfectly. The author recommends the full recipe will fill 15 holes, so she must be a bit more generous than I.



Bake for 20 minutes, in a 180*c oven, or until golden and puffy, and cooked through.





Serve warm.




Now these were lovely! They practically jumped out of the pan when cooking, and had developed some interesting designs as they puffed up.









The inside was a loose web of stretchy holes that reminded me of a lovely fresh yeasty bread, and the cheese gave it a nice flavour and added some chewiness to the crust as well.
I certainly don't think it would be traditional, but next time I make these, I'd love to add some garlic in the mix as well, and even some fresh finely chopped parsley or chives too. The lightness and puffiness of these little buns is glorious, and would be a nice change from savory scones for an afternoon tea.
















Clara Luboss claimed that she was a lucky child, and I certainly think she was. With a wealth of her grandmothers recipes like this behind her, and the opportunity to share them with the rest of us through Feast Magazine, I think we are too.
















So my Dear Readers, have you a favourite recipe passed down from your Grandmother?

21 comments:

  1. yum! they look tempting, that's for sure

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  2. Hah! I was reading the very same recipe/mag this morning and thinking that I must make these. So glad you tried them out and give them the thumbs up. And yes, they would be a lovely thing to take along to a morning tea or picnic as a savoury offering.

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  3. oooh I had these when I was in the States - but I had no idea what they were called! All I know is that they were DELICIOUS!!!!

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  4. Oh so exotic, I love it! I've never heard of Pao De Queijo before. But then again, I know very little about South American cuisine!
    Heidi xo

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  5. ooooh this caught my eye too! and they turned out so wonderfully, i'll have to try them too :)

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  6. They're so cute! As for recipes, my grandmother's a crazy b***h (and we still don't talk to her), but she knew how to make ANZAC biscuits!

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  7. never had heard or seen these things before but they look so interesting! not many baking recipes that uses tapioca starch. thanks for this! =)

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  8. This look amazing and gluten free too? this is the first time I see this bread. I got to try this out. Thanks for the recipe.

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  9. Oooh, great gluten-free recipe, Becca! Thank you, I'll store this one away for my coeliac friend Pete!

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  10. ah, but you didn't get my second comment... sigh!
    I don't know what is happening. This is not the only blog I can no longer comment on. It is such a pest - I have OPINIONS! :-)
    These are lovely, but I am now out of tapioca flour, do you think these would work with potato flour??? :-) XXXOOO

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  11. They look amazing! Almost like individual Yorkshire puddings from the outside but then inside they're totally spongey and different! :)

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  12. Ninehundred- Hi Sweetie, I don't know what the problem is, I've got 2 comments, just obviously not hte one you want to send. I'd love to hear your opinions! Thanks for making these and posting them on your blog too. I think the potato would work fine, I've heard of them using maize flour too, so I think a high starch would be OK. Don't give up honey.

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  13. That looks really easy to make. i think I'm gonna try this for one of my colleagues. Poor man, he just looks so sad when we're eating all sort of breads/cakes and he can't have any :(
    My grandma has passed lots of recipes, but they're hard work... so I just go home and eat them when I can :)

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  14. Yum! Love finding new gluten free recipes. It's so hard to find yummy gluten free! These look fantastic.

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  15. wow these look belly frienly!!!

    sorta looks like pavolas.. like mini ones... so cute!!!

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  16. Glad to see you are making good use of the new toy, Bec - these look gorgeous and possibly even low-guilt, too!

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  17. Hello Lovelies, have you tried the new magazine yet or do you wait to read them at the doctor or dentists office?

    Hollypop- Thanks, they're yummy!

    Spiceandmore- Sometimes it's good to get a second opinion isn't it?

    Lisa- I'd heard of them but not tasted them, now you can make your own!

    Heidi- I love to explore cuisines,but I really don't like the matte tea from there at all.

    Muppy- Thanks, they're so easy too.

    JasmyeTea- There's usually one in most families isn't there? At least that's one good memory for you then.

    Winston- They puff up so well, and it's nice to try something new.

    Quay Po- You're welcome, but I can't take credit for this one. Definitely give them a try!

    Celia- Not quite as exciting as your wonderful breads, but at least Pete and I can eat this one :)

    Ninehundred- I always love to hear from you Sweetie! I saw the ones you mad on your blog and they were absoulutely perfect! I was locked out of blogger for a while too, I figured that I have to sign in each time I log on, not stay signed in. Hope that helps?

    Msihua- I bet he'll apreciate it! Lucky you, I don't have any grandparents :( Learn as much as you can from her, then give her a big hug from me!

    Cassandra- I know, so many are dry or crumby, or just not that nice. I only post recipes I would be happy to eat myself, and I can be fussy :)

    Dolly- Very friendly indeed!

    Amanda- I love it! You should never feel guilty for eating good, fresh food :) Well, that's my excuse anyway!

    I hope you have a lovely weekend Lovelies, we are having a flashback to winter here, but the trees are budding, so I know it won't be for long!

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  18. I made these last year, my boyfriends loves 'em! Should make it again...

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  19. I am definitely going to try these. They look so light and fluffy inside .. yumm!! Lisa H.

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  20. How i miss Pao de queijo!!!
    I used to buy it everyday during my Primary school years! I love Brazilian snacks so much, thanks for the post...it makes me miss home ^^

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