Pan de Yuca (yuca bread)
August 12, 2007 by Andrea 
Print This Post
Filed under Breads
Pan de yuca is a little crescent-shaped bread that I enjoyed while living in Colombia. The bread, which is also common in other Andean countries, has fresh cheese and yuca flour as the main ingredients. The flour comes from the root of the cassava plant and has a texture very much like cornstarch. It is completely gluten free, making this a great bread for gluten-free gourmets.
Goya brand yuca flour is available in 24 ounce bags, so look for it in your grocer’s Hispanic foods section. If you cannot find it locally, you can order yuca flour directly from Goya. The cheese is a type called queso fresco, or fresh cheese, a crumbly white cheese with high liquid content. I found the queso at Costco as well as a local grocer, so depending on where you live you might be able to find it easily.
The amount of flour required will depend on the freshness of your cheese and the size of the eggs. Fresher cheese will have more liquid content, and larger eggs will have more yolk and white, so add more flour if the dough is very wet. The bread is very easy to make and only requires a few steps. I mix it in my food processor then shape the rolls and let them rise before baking. My boys have fun helping make the crescents because they think it’s like playing with Play Dough, but the part they love most is eating the bread. It’s soft and chewy at the same time, and has a nice aroma. The bread tends to get tough after 24 hours, so enjoy it fresh and warm.
Equipment
food processor
sheet pan, lined with parchment or lightly coated with butter
Ingredients
1 cup yuca flour, plus more for dusting
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
10 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
milk, as necessary
Preparation
1. Add 1 cup yuca flour plus the baking powder to the food processor bowl. Pulse a few times.
2. Add the eggs and crumbled cheese and process until the dough forms a ball. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour a tablespoon at a time; if it is too dry, add a teaspoon or two of milk.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into four equal pieces. Lightly shape the first piece with your hands and then cut into four pieces. Roll each small piece into a small rope and then shape into a crescent. Place the crescents on the prepared pan. Continue with the remaining dough. You will have 16 crescents on the pan.
4. Cover with a flour sack towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
5. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 375 F.
6. Bake the rolls on the top rack for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve warm.
**********************************************
Source: adapted from The South American Table, by Maria Baez Kijac
They are similar to Brazilian pão de queijo – delicious, Andrea!
Yes Andrea, this is sooo yummy! We love this here, my recipe does not take baking powder. I have one posted, if you’d like to check it.
Ok, try it with any kind or jelly… or guava jam… I will try your recipe, I am writing it down! Thanks for sharing this one
!
helo, can use fresh shered yuca if i don’t have flour?
Victoria, I’ve never made pan de yuca from shredded yuca, but there are recipes for it. I found one here in Spanish.
Andrea: have you ever made almojabanas?? They are very spongy in texture and made with corn flour, eggs and queso fresco (or cuajada).
I have been trying to recreate these with the ingredients available in the US and its been frustrating. Usually the queso fresco I get is crumbly, but salty and not wet, so the almojabanas turn out very dry instead of spongy. I had some success using cottage cheese and they are less dry and more tasty, but still not spongy.
Any ideas would be appreciated..!
Thanks, Jorge
Hi Jorge! I’ve never made almojabanas, so I can’t speak about them specifically. I don’t know if you have a Costco nearby, but they’ve had the best queso fresco I could find. It’s been appropriately wet with extra liquid in the bags. I’ve tried other brands from a couple local grocery stores, but nothing else matched the liquid content. Hope this helps!
Hello Andrea! As a Celiac Mom (gluten free) of 2 special needs boys (one celiac the other with other food intolerances). I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the posting of this recipe.
I have made Pan de Yuca before they have always been rolled into golf sized balls. I have not added baking powder, and as you may possibly know, Pan de Yuca often has a gummy (like the pearls in Tapioca Pudding) texture inside, that some people who eat traditional wheat bread, often perceive as a raw or undercooked texture. I LOVE this bread, and I have never eaten it in crescent shape. I am also thrilled to see the addition of the baking powder, which I have never thought to do, to lend to the puffy-ness.
My gluten eating family often enjoys traditional crescent rolls, and now you have inspired me to try this loved bread, with a new “twist”
Thank you!
Hi Andrea! I just wanted to tell you that I think your website is BEAUTIFUL and so helpful! I can’t believe you have time to maintain it AND look after three boys, not to mention a husband!
I want to make pan de yuca for my Cachaco husband, and yours is the best! Thanks!
Tee, my sister has celiac disease, so I understand your situation! I hope you like this version.
Thank you Michelle! I hope you enjoy the pan de yuca.
Andrea……(Same name as one of my daughters!)
For years, more than 40, I made pan de bono, pan de queso, and i tried my favorite pan de yuca. But, living in parts where there to little spanish grocery stores proved to be hard. I also did tried the ones that come from my home country Colombia, but now that I live in the state of Florida have found the most wonderful product made in Ecuador. Frozen Pan de Yuca.
I comes in little frozen balls. The name of the product is Mana, and is produced in Ecuador by LIFE FOOD PRODUCT in the city of Guayaquil. 5 servings have 340 calories, 41 grams of sugar. is distributed by Life Products in Miami Florida.
here is the phone #305-597=5143
Edgar, thanks for the tip! I’ll have to look for those at the grocery store.
Hello Andrea, I Hope you can find the Pan de Yuca Mana.
I am now digging my files to share with you, and your bloggers the recipe of a well known cake in Colombia, also known as “Cake de Novia” or “Pastel Negro”
As soon as I find my book, I recently moved from a house to a condo, and I am a little disorganized. I will use this medium to disclose the recipe. I was given to me by my mother me many years ago!
Saludos,
Edgar
I am planning to make some Yuca Buns. I need larger buns so I am doubling your receipe. However another receipe calls for a little butter. Do I not need butter for these?
Thanks Edgar, we’ll look forward to your pastel negro.
Peter, pan de yuca comes from a variety of sources with different names, and some recipes make them a little differently. This recipe does not use butter as the cheese provides plenty of liquid and fat.
HELLO,
I AM A BAKER MASTER, IN COLOMBIA, IF YOU NEED RECEPIES TOP 1, LET ME KNOW.
I ALSO AM A PROFESOR ON THE HOTEL UNIVERSITY HERE IN COLOMBIA SOUTHAMERICA.
BY THE WAY FOR TOP 1 PAN DE YUCA , YOU NEED COASTAL COLOMBIAN CHEESE, NOT JUST ANY CHEESE.
Hi Norberto and ALL,
I was introduced to Pan de Queso from a flour mixture sold in the market by the brand name Colombiana. I use half of the mixture with one egg and one half pound of finely grated queso fresco from Queso Del Valle available where I live in Seattle. I have tried to come up with the same mixture use tapioca flour but they always come out flat, unlike the mix which are amazingly beautiful like the picture above. Any ideas? Also if there are other Colombian cakes and breads without wheat flour I would be interested as I have Celiac’s and cant eat wheat.
Thanks!
Richard
I lived in colombia in the fifties.. I loved pan de yuca.. I candt make it nor can I find the flour. Where can I find the flour and what kind of cheese do i use… hope you can give me info but I never wrote on this thing.. I dont know how i will get a reply……….don amy,,,,,,,,,,,,,lafayette, louisiana…..ty,,,,,,,,,,,,,,don