Pão de queijo (cheese bread)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C and line two trays with baking paper. Coarsely grate the flamengo cheese and finely grate the parmesan.
2. In a large bowl, mix the sour cassava starch, the tapioca starch (sweet polvilho) and the salt. In a small pan, bring 360 ml of water and 60 ml of the oil to the boil.
3. Scald the starch: pour the boiling liquid over it gradually, stirring with a sturdy wooden spoon until there is no dry powder left. You get a lumpy, sticky dough.
4. Leave it to cool for about 15 minutes until just warm (if it is hot, the eggs cook, the cheese melts and the dough will not rise).
5. Add the cheeses and knead with your hands. Add the eggs one at a time, cracking each into a small bowl first, and knead well after each until absorbed. The dough is heavy, sticky and slightly lumpy: that is right.
6. Oil your hands with the rest of the oil and roll golf-ball-sized balls (about 3 tablespoons of dough), spacing them out on the trays. To freeze, set the raw balls close together on a tray in the freezer until hard, then bag them.
7. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until risen and golden. Serve hot. From frozen, bake at 180 °C without thawing, about 40 minutes.