Last Updated on August 25, 2024 by Chef Mireille
B is for Bolivia…
Bolivia is a landlocked country located in west-central South America. It was once part of the Incan empire, until colonized by the Spanish. There are over 35 native tribes still present in Bolivia, maintaining their own culture and language. One of the largest tribes are the Quechua people and you can frequently hear this language being spoken throughout Bolivia. Such a multi-cultural society has contributed to Bolivia having a rich cultural heritage in the areas of art, cuisine, literature and music.
Throughout South America, there are two tea times, one occurring mid morning and one occurring in late afternoon. The morning tea time is generally known as tecito and the afternoon one is known as merienda. In Bolivia, merienda is observed and these snacks would be commonly served during the afternoon merienda. This is also a popular street food in Bolivia.
Also known as Pao de Quiejo in Brazil, they may go by different names due to language differences, but they are essentially the same delicious cheese bread
Yield: 10 cunape
Ingredients:
- 1 cup tapioca starch (manioc/cassava)
- 2 cups queso fresco, crumbled
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 450 F. Place a piece of parchment paper and spray with non stick spray on a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, place the crumbled cheese. Add the starch, egg and baking powder. Mix well.
Add milk and knead for a few minutes until you have a soft dough.
Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Make an indentation on one side (so that they will evenly puff). Place indent side down on the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes. When they come out of the oven, they will have puffed and will no longer have an indentation on the underside.
Notes:
- Queso fresco is sold in a salted brine, however if you decide to substitute another fresh cheese that is not salted, you will need to add a little salt to the recipe.
- If the dough is too dry, add additional milk, as needed.
If eaten hot out of the oven, you will see the gooey cheesey insides, but they will also deflate when you break them open.
If you wait until they cool a little, they will keep their shape. They have such a light and airy texture.
These are so delicious and the whole recipe start to end can be completed in 1/2 hour. Who can complain about that?
Bolivian Cheese Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup tapioca starch manioc/cassava
- 2 cups queso fresco crumbled
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Place a piece of parchment paper and spray with non stick spray on a cookie sheet.
- In a large bowl, place the crumbled cheese. Add the starch, egg and baking powder. Mix well.
- Add milk and knead for a few minutes until you have a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Roll each into a ball.
- Make an indentation on one side (so that they will evenly puff). Place indent side down on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes. When they come out of the oven, they will have puffed and will no longer have an indentation on the underside.
Notes
- Queso fresco is sold in a salted brine, however if you decide to substitute another fresh cheese that is not salted, you will need to add a little salt to the recipe.
- If the dough is too dry, add additional milk, as needed.
Nutrition
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They have come out well and are quick to make as you mentioned. Cheese filled buns seem to be one of the popular breads among many Latin American countries.
They look so light and fluffy. You got great texture too. Reminds me of a Brazilian tea time snack made of tapioca starch.
Omg..this is so spongy . fluffy. .must be very very light. The stuffing sounds interesting. .though we will not get that cherse here.
Wow Mir, I love that texture, looks amazing…thanks for sending it for the breakfast event..
Wow, this cunape looks alluring, wish i get the queso fresco here, let me check.
My complaint is I dont get the starch here. Is there a substitute? I love these beauties . Mir a delicious treat.
You can probably sub cornstarch
I love these kind of bakes that don to require any resting time. This is a nice tea time snack and great intro to the country. Enjoyed reading the history culture of the country.
Wow! Love the spongy, fluffy and cheesy insides!
Wow, didn't realize they were fluffy and hollow in the middle until I got to the last pictures.. They look amazing. I was wondering why 'no salt', but the note says it all. It is such an authentic treat. Thanks for sharing it.
Canape looks so soft and fluffy. Such an amazing recipe and nice presentation …
Wow they came out so very well. actually I wanted to make Brazilian cheese bread to day but didn't find tapioca flour so skiped They looks really fantastic.
Looks so light and fluffy! Great choice of dish for this country Mir!!!
wow such an fluffy light and delicious street food from bolivia 🙂 lovely recipe choice and the filling sure sounds very interesting 🙂
Love the texture of cunape!! On top so fluffy, awesome bake!!!
Something named majority with starch and cheese… Wrote must be such a light and delightful snack!
they are indeed so light almost like yeast breads ..hollow within , iloved the recipe and also the last pic with tea
Oh my comment is totally not decipherable! I meant to say that something baked with starch as the biggest ingredient must be such a light, delightful snack!
Love the texture of the rolls. When I made a cheese biscuit yesterday, even it had the texture like this and deflated once out of oven. I was wondering why and today you clarified it..
Beautiful cheese rolls.. They are tempting & sure will go off in no time.