Happy Life, Happy Wife

The first time Shane and I went to Boizao (at the recommendation of a co-worker) was for Valentine’s Day several years ago, and we’ve been going back for every special occasion since.  But that first time… that first time was an experience I’ll never forget.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and the bread was about the end of us!  I think Shane ate something ridiculous like 16 bread rolls all by himself.  Yes, they were that good.

We had my family over yesterday to celebrate Shane’s birthday (he turns 31 tomorrow), and I made some of these.  I had them in the oven and I kept checking and checking, but they just weren’t cooking.  After they’d been in the oven for 25 minutes, I noticed that the oven wasn’t turned on.

Probably not my brightest of moments, but hey, these things happen, right?

This is one of the easiest bread recipes you will ever make, provided you turn the oven on.  It will have a very chewy, cheesy consistency inside (which I find quite delicious).

And the use of tapioca starch in lieu of wheat flour makes them gluten free.

Tapioca starch was a first for me, but it also got me to try queso fresco for the first time.  It’s such an inoffensive cheese.  I busted out my cheese grater, but you could probably just crumble it by hand as long as you had small crumbles.

Throw it all in the blender and that’s it!  Makes enough for 24 mini rolls.

Required Equipment:

• Blender
• Mini-muffin pan
• Non-stick spray

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour/starch (170g – which was an entire box of the brand I had)
• 1/2 cup packed Queso Fresco
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk (I use skim milk)
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put all of the ingredients in your blender.  Pulse until combined and smooth.
3. Grease the mini-muffin pan and then pour your mixture into the wells.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed up.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.  (Or carefully eat right away when they’re hot from the oven like I do!)

Note:

• If you want to get a head-start on it before company comes over: once you combine everything in the blender, you can then store it in the refrigerator at that stage.  When you’re ready to bake, just pop it on back on the blender for a few pulses and then finish.