Pão de Queijo — Cook

Ingredients

500 g polvilho azedo, sour-fermented cassava starch
250 ml whole milk, brought to a full boil
125 ml neutral oil
2 tsp fine salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
200 g queijo Minas curado, finely grated; parmesan is an acceptable substitute
80 g cream cheese, at room temperature

Method

1
Measure the polvilho azedo into a large heatproof bowl. Combine the milk and oil in a small saucepan and bring to a full boil. Pour the boiling liquid over the starch all at once and beat immediately with a wooden spoon until the mixture is rough and shaggy. The starch will clump and look uneven — this is correct. The heat pre-gelatinises the starch; cold liquid at this stage produces a grainy, dense result that no subsequent step can repair. Allow to cool until warm but no longer steaming.
2
Add the salt, cream cheese, and grated queijo Minas curado to the warm mass. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next. The finished batter will be soft, wet, and slightly elastic — it does not hold its shape unsupported and cannot be kneaded. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl in slow, stretchy sheets.
3
Using two wet spoons or a piping bag, portion the batter into rounded mounds of approximately 30 g each onto a lightly oiled baking tray, spacing them 4 cm apart. For the hollow, airy centre characteristic of professional pão de queijo, the formed rolls may be frozen at this stage and baked directly from the freezer without thawing.
4
Bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C (conventional) until the rolls are evenly golden and the exterior is set and slightly crisp to the tap of a fingernail. Pale pão de queijo lacks the texture contrast between crisp shell and elastic interior — the rolls must colour fully. The interior will remain extraordinarily chewy and elastic; a roll torn open should reveal an almost hollow, stretchy crumb with a pronounced sour-cheese aroma.