Damsels in the Kitchen: Pan de Yuca

I want to introduce you to one of my most favorite breads. It’s called Pan de Yuca, but I call it bahn-bahn (my own made up word). You’re gonna lick the computer screen when you see the pictures below.

This bread is common throughout the Americas. It goes great with so many foods. It’s easy to make, taking about 25 minutes from mixing bowl to oven to your plate. I especially love it warm for breakfast with honey drizzled cream cheese.

There are two main ingredients in this bread that may be new for some readers: tapioca flour/starch, and queso fresco cheese. Both can be found in the Mexican stores or in the Latin/Hispanic section of the grocery store.

Winco sells it in the bulk sections. Uwajimaya also sells it. I buy 16oz bags at Uwajimaya since I save money buying it in this size. However, if you want to purchase an amount for this recipe only, then buying from the bulk section of Winco is better.

Learn more about world-wide cassava production and use HERE.

Enjoy the photos and the recipe that follows.

Pan de Yuca bread on a platter with sliced pickles.

Recipe for Pan de Yuca

Ingredients

1 C tapioca starch (yuca harina)
2 C queso fresco (can use other cheeses: mozzarella, shredded Mexican 4 Cheese, Asiago)
1 ½ tsp baking powder (some recipes use 1 ½ Tablespoon baking powder)
¼ tsp sugar
¼ C milk or heavy cream

Directions

1. Set the oven to 450°F to let it warm while you put the bread together.

2. Put all dry ingredients in a food processor. Process until mixed together very well.

3. Keep the processor running. Then add in the eggs slowly. I have made this recipe using a fork to mix everything instead of a food processor. However, the food processor creates a more even textured bread.

3. Remove dough from food processor. Separate into 12 equal size portions. Roll into balls.

4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place rolls onto sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are golden. Don’t let them get brown, they should be golden, not brown.

Best served warm.

A quick note about using different cheeses–

Before playing around with the other cheeses, make this using queso fresco until you get a good feel for the how the dough should be.

When using shredded cheese, reduce the amount of cheese to 1½  cups. Sometimes I will do a mixture of cheeses like half queso fresco and half shredded.

Pulse the shredded cheese in the food processor to get the pieces a little smaller.

Queso fresco is a wet cheese. Mozzarella, shredded Mexican 4 Cheese is dry. So, the dough may be too dry. If this happens, add milk or heavy cream 1 tsp at a time until the dough is tacky to the tough (very slightly sticky).

Let me know if you make this. Trust me, when you family smells this bread baking, they will come running to the kitchen!

Recipe source: Colombian Yuca Bread <– And check out the other wonderful recipes on the site!