Pandebono is a Colombian cheese bread that is super moist and extra cheesy. This bread is the perfect coffee bread for my breakfasts.
This cheese bread may be a great alternative for those that are gluten intolerant and that want some kind of bread for their breakfast.
I must say that this recipe brings me memories from home — I know I’m Venezuelan, not Colombian — because in almost every bakery we could get some freshly-made, warm and savory cheese bread.
In Venezuela, we don’t call it pandebono, I just knew it as “pan de queso” but when I wanted to learn the recipe I also learned that this was, in fact, a Colombian recipe that somebody in my family was taught from a Colombian friend.
For those that don’t know, besides sharing a border, Colombia and Venezuela share a similar gastronomy. Don’t you ever get yourself between a Venezuelan and a Colombian arguing about the origins of arepas… It will be a war!
But the truth is that we have many similar dishes and sometimes we don’t even realize it.
Now talking about the details of the recipe:
First, you need tapioca starch — mandioca o yuca — you can get it in any Latin American store. Here in Portugal, I get mine from the Brazilian section of the supermarket and it’s called “Polvilho Doce”.
Now, to give the right consistency we need some corn flour and I will always recommend Harina Pan — this is the most known product from Venezuela. Luckily, nowadays is really easy to find in any big supermarket chain like Target.
As I said before, this recipe is 100% gluten-free because the two main ingredients are Tapioca starch and Corn flour.
The pandebono dough is completely mixed in a food processor, so you don’t have to knead the dough or even sweat.
In my case, I don’t have a truly potent food processor and It was kind of tricky, but with patience and the help of a spatula I got a pretty homogeneous dough.
Finally, I need to address the cheesy factor of this recipe. Traditionally this dough is made of a combination of “queso costeño” (80%) and feta cheese (20%). But here in Portugal, I can’t find “queso costeño” anywhere, so I use grated mozzarella cheese — not fresh mozzarella cheese because it has a lot more water. The result is a little bit more stringy but less strong flavor.
I hope you enjoy these pandebonos with a big cup of coffee or milk!
- 2 cups tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp Corn Flour (note 1)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 150 gr mozzarella cheese
- 50 gr feta cheese
- 2 tbsp softened butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup whole milk
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Preheat the oven to 220ºC (420ºF)
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In a food processor add the tapioca starch, the corn flour, the baking powder, the sugar, and the salt. Process for 20 sec until everything is well mixed.
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Add the egg and the butter and process for a minute or two until you get a thick dough.
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Now start adding the milk to help the food processor to mix.
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Add the cheese and process for 2-4 minutes until you get a smooth dough that slightly separates from the food processor. Transfer to a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.
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Make small balls or donut-shaped pandebonos and bake for 20 minutes. (note 2)
- Try to use Harina pan for a better result.
- The donut-shaped pandebonos will need less amount of time. About 18 minutes.
Owner and Food blogger on The Cookware Geek. She loves cooking, baking, traveling, playing with the cats, and knitting. She believes that eating delicious meals doesn’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef in your kitchen.