This is my 3rd attempt at making Pao de Queijo. It's a favorite of mine when going to a Brazilian steakhouse.
Everytime, they didn't poof up at they should. I used the King Arthur Baking recipe the first two times. The first time I made the recipe exactly as written, but the batter was too loose and wound up flat. The second time, I added extra tapioca starch (Bob's Red Mill) during mixing until it more resembled choux. It helped, but still flat after baking. The reviews give a bunch of mixed results as well.
Third time, I consulted Brazilian recipes and got better results. All used oil instead of butter and half the amount of it. Also they use all milk, no water. I made these changes in attempt three. Halving the oil alone helped make the batter more cohesive. Then the KA recipe called for a 375 bake. I bumped it up to 400 (my oven is calibrated). That helped it puff even more. Much better results after the 3rd attempt.
I'm determined to get these perfect. I'm thinking a higher oven temp is key here since there is no leavening other than eggs. This is a rare occasion where a KA recipe didn't turn out the first time. Here's to experimenting!
by TheDocDalek
Dining and Cooking