Nathalia's Vegan Cheese Bread Recipe

When I asked Nathalia to share a recipe that reminded her of home, I expected a lavish, delicious dish that would be far too complicated for someone like me to cook. Someone who is far from proficient in the kitchen. Furthermore, my only (very ignorant) memory of Brazilian food was based on the counted times I went to my father's favourite Brazilian restaurant in Madrid, Rubayat, which mainly served meat. The veggie in me was quick to assume this recipe was not going to be something I could cook. And oh how wrong I was. 

Nathalia is a vegan herself and has, by work of genius, made an easy, mouth-watering, vegan Pão De Queijo. Something I am confident will sit very well with any vegan who suffers from the occasional pang of cheese-nostalgia. Here are the instructions for Nathalia's Vegan Cheese Bread, a recipe that deserves a spot in your daily routine: 

Nathalia's Vegan Cheese Bread

🥖 2 cups (about 300g) cooked + mashed potato (this can be white potato, cassava, sweet potato)
🥖1 and 1/2 cup (approximately 200g) of sweet tapioca starch (or if you have a Brazilian supermarket nearby, polvilho doce)
🥖1/2 cup (about 50g) sour starch (or polvilho azedo)
🥖1 teaspoon of chemical yeast powder
🥖1/4 cup (tea) of water
🥖5 tablespoons of oil
🥖1 teaspoon salt (or more if you prefer)

🥖Optional: Vegan cheese, traditional Guava jam or vegan Doce de Leite 

How to make it:

1. First, cool your potato of choice in boiling water and then mash it until is an uniform pure.
2. Preheat the oven to 210ºC.
3. In a bowl, place the sweet tapioca starch, sour starch, chemical baking powder and mix.
4. Put the water, oil and salt in a small saucepan, mix and bring to a boil.
5. When it's bubbling up, turn it off and pour over the starch mixture. Mix well until it becomes a crumb.
6. Add the potato purée and mix again, until you get a uniform mass.
7. Form medium-sized balls, about 4cm in diameter, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
8. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the buns are cracked and completely baked.

Bake like a pro:

You can add different spices (like chives) and/or vegan cheese inside your Pão de Queijo.

And why not enjoy it with some traditional guava jam OR vegan Doce de Leite?!

Enjoy!