I grew up with a lot of cousins around me. My mom had 8 siblings. Feeding all these kids was hard work, so my mom and aunts used get together during the weekends to bake bread for the week for the big family. Some weekends they would do this magnificent rollo de queso. They used to make them the size of our hands to have them as a snack straight from the oven. They would also make them big enough to feed the adults, cutting the rollo de queso in nice slices. I love this bread for the amount of cheese inside and for the soft and crumbly pastry exterior. As kids we all sat next to each other to enjoy our rollo de queso. We usually ate them for breakfast or tea time. Here in Maine in the winter I eat them all the time!
Rollo de Queso
Serves 2 large rollo de queso
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 Tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp crisco
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
2 cups of grated Monterrey Jack cheese, (in Bolivia we use Menonita, San Javier or Queso Fresco)
2 egg whites
3 egg yolks
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F
Mix the flour with the baking powder and set aside
In a large bowl mix together sugar, salt, 2 egg yolks and crisco, until it is well mixed. Add the warm milk slowly, combining with the flour until you have a nice soft dough. Divide the dough in two and let the cool for 20 min.
Meanwhile beat egg whites until hard (punto nieve). Add the cheese, mix, and set aside.
Roll the dough on top of parchment paper, until it’s thin
Add half of the egg whites and cheese in the center of the dough.
Fold one of the ends to the middle and the fold the other end on top.
Repeat the same with the other half of the dough and egg cheese mix.
Brush both of them with the remaining egg yolk and bake it at 350 for 45 min.
I love them when they just come out of the oven! You can freeze them and re-heat them before eating. Enjoy!
Bolivian Cookbook 