Ingredients
Dough
- 300 galmidón agrio, sour cassava starch
- 150 gmasarepa, precooked white corn flour
- 400 gcuajada or queso fresco, finely grated
- 150 gqueso costeño, salty, grated
- 2eggs
- 1 tspsugar
- a little milk, if needed
Optional
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 50 gbocadillo, guava paste, for filling
To serve
- hot chocolate
- coffee
- or aguapanela
Directions
- Grate both cheeses as finely as possible, almost to a paste. Mix the cassava starch, masarepa, sugar and baking powder if using.
- Add the grated cheeses and rub them through the dry ingredients with your fingertips.
- Work the cheese in by hand rather than in a machine, so you can feel when it is evenly distributed. Add the eggs and knead the mixture for 3 or 4 minutes.
- Knead it properly. The dough should become smooth, pliable and slightly elastic, and under-worked pandebono is crumbly.
- Add milk a teaspoon at a time only if it will not come together, and add as little as you can. Too much liquid and the rolls spread rather than rise.
- Shape into balls, or into the traditional squat rings with a hole through the middle. Push a small piece of guava paste into the centre if you want the filled version.
- Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake them hot and fast. A hot oven puffs them quickly and sets the shell before the inside dries out.
Technique
- The unbaked balls freeze very well and bake from frozen with a few extra minutes.
- Cuajada is a soft fresh curd cheese and ricotta drained overnight is the nearest substitute.
- Aguapanela with cheese is the traditional drink alongside.
Substitutions
- Ricotta drained hard, plus feta for the salty cheese.
- Sweet cassava starch if sour is unavailable, accepting a flatter roll.
Variations
- Filled with bocadillo, guava paste.
- Pan de yuca, the Ecuadorian version without corn flour.
- Almojábana, the related Colombian cheese roll made with cuajada and rice flour.
History
Cheese bread of Valle del Cauca made with cassava starch and cuajada; folk etymology traces the name to an Italian baker’s cry, pan del bono.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pandebono?
Pandebono is a bread & pastry from Colombia: chewy cassava-and-cheese bread from Valle del Cauca, best oven-fresh. Cheese bread of Valle del Cauca made with cassava starch and cuajada; folk etymology traces the name to an Italian baker’s cry, pan del bono.
How long does Pandebono take to make?
Pandebono takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Pandebono?
Yes, within limits. Ricotta drained hard, plus feta for the salty cheese. Sweet cassava starch if sour is unavailable, accepting a flatter roll.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pandebono?
Work the cheese in by hand rather than in a machine, so you can feel when it is evenly distributed. Add the eggs and knead the mixture for 3 or 4 minutes.
