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Pandebono
Valle del Cauca cheese bread made with cassava starch and cornmeal
Pandebono is the warm cheese bread of the Valle del Cauca, the region around Cali, eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack (onces) with hot chocolate or a coffee. It looks like Brazilian pão de queijo but tastes different: the dough is cassava starch and a little precooked cornmeal kneaded with lots of crumbly fresh cheese, with no milk or cooking, so the rings bake up with a slightly crisp skin and a soft, stretchy, tangy middle. Chef's tip: shape them into rings or balls and bake them straight away; the dough dries out if it sits.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Line a tray with baking paper.
Step 2: In a bowl, mix 3 ½ oz cassava starch (tapioca flour), ⅞ oz precooked white cornmeal (masarepa), 1 tbsp sugar and ¼ tsp salt.
Step 3: Add 5 ½ oz feta cheese and 3 ½ oz mozzarella and rub everything together with your fingertips until it looks like coarse sand.
Step 4: Add 1 egg and knead until the dough is smooth and soft and doesn't crack when you roll a ball. If it crumbles, add 2 tbsp milk a teaspoon at a time.
Step 5: Roll into 12 balls, or roll into sausages and join the ends into rings, and space them on the tray.
Step 6: Bake until puffed and pale golden with lightly browned spots, 15–18 minutes. The common mistake is overbaking until dark: they harden as they cool.
17 minStep 7: Serve warm, within an hour or two of baking.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 11 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pandebono take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of feta cheese?
- Goat's cheese or ricotta salata, same amount.
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