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Sekai Gohan
Biscoito de Polvilho: Brazilian Baked Sour Cassava Starch Biscuits
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sour cassava starch (polvilho azedo) | 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) | The main ingredient and the body of the biscuit |
| Salt (sal) | 1 level dessert spoon (1 colher de sobremesa rasa) | Seasoning |
| Boiling water (água fervente) | ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (200 ml) | Scalds the starch |
| Neutral vegetable oil (óleo) | ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (200 ml) | Lightness and binding |
| Milk, at room temperature (leite) | ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (200 ml) | Binding and flavor |
| Egg (ovo) | 1 | Binds the dough |
Steps
1Scald the starch with half the boiling water
Heat the oven to 430°F (220°C) and bring the water to a boil. Put the polvilho azedo and the salt in a large bowl and stir them together with a wooden spoon. Pour in about half of the freshly boiled water a little at a time, stirring the whole time. Then go on to the oil and milk.
2Work in half the oil and milk
Add about half the oil a little at a time, then about half the room-temperature milk, mixing after each addition. Stop when the mixture looks like damp crumbs (farofa úmida). It should be moist, but it should not be soft or wet.
3Add the rest of the liquid only if it needs it
Check the crumbs. If dry powder is still left in the bowl, add the remaining boiling water, oil and milk a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Starch brands differ, and some do not need the full amount of liquid. Stop as soon as all the starch is evenly moist and crumbly. The dough should still not be soft.
Too soft is the mistake you cannot take backAdd liquid in small amounts and stop at moist crumbs, even if some liquid is left in the jugs. The egg loosens the dough a lot in the next step. Crumbs that are already soft turn into a batter too loose to hold a piped shape.
4Beat in the egg until smooth and thick
Crack the egg into the bowl and mix hard with the spoon or spatula. At first the crumbs smear and slide around the egg. Then they come together. Keep mixing until there are no lumps left. Stop when the dough is smooth, dense and like thick cake batter, and it holds soft ridges when you lift the spatula.
5Pipe thin shapes a finger's width apart
Spoon the dough into the piping bag, or into a strong plastic bag, and cut off the tip. Squeeze it onto the baking tray in thin sticks, rings or ribbons. Leave one finger's width between pieces, because they puff a lot in the oven. When the tray is full of thin, separate shapes with clear gaps between them, it is ready to bake.
6Bake until the bases are golden
Put the tray in the hot oven and bake for about 20 minutes. The biscuits puff and stay pale on top. Lift one with a mitt and look underneath. When the base is golden, they are done. If the bases are still pale, leave the tray in and keep checking, because home ovens run differently and the color is a better guide than the clock. Take the tray out with oven mitts.