Cheese buns

Cheese buns, cheese breads, pão de queijo or originally known as chipá are a variety of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The most frequent variety of chipá is made from cassava starch, milk, cheese, eggs and butter or oil (occasionally, anise seeds are added). The dough is usually formed into small horseshoe shapes or rings. The lightness of the cassava starch, which is finely milled, gives the bread a special texture. Cuñape uses the same ingredients as chipá but in different proportions.

Pão de queijo are formed into small balls, around 3-5 centimeters in diameter. The cassava root produces a very powerful starch which is key to the size and texture of the pão de queijo; unlike other types of bread, the recipe calls for no leavening of any kind. Small pockets of air within the dough expand during baking and are contained by the powerful elasticity of the starch paste.

One can knead pão de queijo in a mixer with a hook attachment or do it manually by hand. Once the mixture reaches a doughy consistency, it's vital to roll it into a ball and either bake immediately or freeze it for later use. If left to rest, the dough will virtually liquify. Regardless of whether the bread is made from freshly made dough, or with frozen dough prepared at a prior cooking session, the final pão de queijo will be the same size and texture.

In the Guaraní region, the chipás are often baked in smaller doughnuts or buns that are called chipa'í or chipacitos. These are sold in small paper bags by street sellers of big cities and small towns. Every variety of manioc and corn flour bread is known in Paraguay and Northeast of Argentina as chipa and mbeju, this also originally from Paraguay. In the preparation, yeast is not used, so in spite of the high temperatures of the region, it can be preserved for many days. It is a festive food and can be found in every popular religious celebration.

Other common variants in Paraguay include the chipa guasu or chipá guazú ("chipa grande", "big chipa" in English), made with corn flour in its fresh state (clog)[clarification needed], one of the most usual dishes at the Holy Friday table during the Lent period because it is meat-free; the chipa caburé or chipá mbocá (cooked around a stick, in consequence it doesn't have the spongy inner center) and the chipa so'ó, filled with ground meat. There are other varieties of chipa with different ingredients; chipa manduvi (made with a mix of corn flour and peanut), chipá avatí and chipa rora (made of the skin of the seed of corn after being strained, like a whole-wheat bread).

The Paraguayan city of Coronel Bogado in the department of Itapúa is considered the National Capital of the Chipa.

In Brazil, pão de queijo is a popular breakfast dish and snack. Made of cassava starch, a large number of consumers prefer to buy the mix and bake the bread at home, rather than buying it ready-made; however, pão de queijo continues to be widely sold at snack bars and bakeries. Pão de queijo can also be bought frozen at supermarkets for baking, with brands such as Forno de Minas, Casa do Pão de Queijo and many others featuring as producers. In Brazil, cheese puff mix packages are easily found in most supermarkets, with brands such as Yoki and Hikari dominating the market. A continuing growth exists for pre-prepared products, with brand availability depending on the particular supermarket.

Called cuñapé, they are made of either cassava or maize flour. Cuñapés are usually baked in the mornings and sold later on the streets, while being transported in polystyrene containers. Such vendors can also be found in bus terminals and near popular areas of the cities and even rural towns. A medium-sized piece of cuñape generally sells for roughly 25 cents.

Pandebono is a type of Colombian bread made of corn flour, cassava starch, cheese and eggs. Traditionally, it is consumed while still warm with hot chocolate a few minutes after baking. It is very popular in the Colombian department of Valle del Cauca. Commonly known as the Colombian bagel. Pan de yuca (Spanish for Cassava bread) is made of cassava starch and cheese, and is typical of southern Colombia and the Coast Region of Ecuador.

The Brazilian pão de queijo arrived in Japan with the dekasegi. It is usually made with rice flour instead of the cassava (tapioca) starch.

Read More at Wikipedia.

Recipe for Cheese bun see Here and Here.