These adorable little cheese buns can be found all over Brazil and in several other South American countries. Made from cassava (tapioca) or corn flour, they are delightfully gluten-free, making them an ideal bread to serve at a large family gathering where a celiac is almost bound to show up. Eggs help the dough, which doesn’t use yeast or any other leavening agent, fluff up as it bakes. That’s a big-a cheese puff!

1. 1. Pão de Queijo (Brazil)
These adorable little cheese bunscan be found all over
Brazil and in several other South American countries.
Made from cassava (tapioca) or corn flour, they are
delightfully gluten-free, making them an ideal bread to
serve at a large family gathering where a celiac is almost
bound to show up. Eggs help the dough, which doesn’t
use yeast or any other leavening agent, fluff up as it bakes.
That’s a big-a cheese puff!
4 BREADS FROM
AROUND THE
WORLD
2. Naan (India)
You’ll find this oven-baked flatbread all over Southeast
Asia. It’s best enjoyed spread with butter or ghee while
still hot enough to melt it. The beauty of naan is that it
can be topped, stuffed or infused with just about
anything, from herbs to seeds to pumpkin to cheese to
spicy mashed potatoes. Lately, we’ve seen a number of
naan stuffing recipes cropping up, so don’t limit yourself
to serving it as is. And save some of the next day – you’ll
want to fold turkey and cranberry sauce into a reheated
naan for lunch.
4. Pretzel (Germany)
OK, so you might throw your guests off if you set down a
basket of big, soft pretzel-shaped pretzels this
Thanksgiving. But pretzel bread is delicious and shouldn’t
be avoided simply because we most associate it with big,
pretzel-shaped street food. Find a recipe for pretzel
dough, then simply shape the breads into rolls or sticks…
or little pilgrim hats, if you have the artistic vision and
dexterity for it.
3. Challah (Jewish)
This braided egg bread is traditionally served on the
Sabbath and holidays to commemorate the manna that
fell from heaven to feed the Jews during their exodus
from Egypt. It’s gently sweetened and bakes up golden
brown. Folding raisins into the dough and/or topping the
loaf with sesame or poppy seeds is a common practice.
And this is another great one to use for dense, chewy
stuffing.