Almojabanas are small bread rolls made with cheese and are found throughout Latin America, especially Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Although some almojabanas can be fried, we will be focusing on the baked variety using a Colombian recipe. Usually enjoyed with a cup of coffee at a café, we thought almojabanas made the perfect dinner roll!
When comparing the myriad almojabana recipes, we found they can include either corn or rice flour and can be either baked or fried, depending on what country you’re in. However, the one constant detail in making an almojabana is cheese. In fact, the word almojabana is from the Arabic Hispanic word almuǧábbana, which means “made with cheese.” Cheese is sometimes incorporated as a filling or grated and worked into the dough, as you will see in this recipe.
Our Colombian recipe for almojabanas is light, airy, and delicious hot out of the oven. If you’re looking for the perfect gluten free, holiday bread roll recipe, you really should try almojabanas. Conveniently, they do not use yeast for rising, so you can have fresh, gluten free bread in less than one hour! Eating them hot out of the oven is a must but you can certainly make the dough up to an hour in advance of your meal and wait to pop them in the oven for perfect timing.
Heaven knows there will be plenty of leftover turkey or ham to serve, so why not make a fresh little bread roll and serve a sandwich buffet? Any office gifts you received, such as mustards, salsas, or jams can be part of your spread too. Watching football, feeding a crowd, and emptying the overstuffed refrigerator should be on everyone’s holiday tradition list, but a touch of freshly baked bread will add a little more sparkle to the occasion!
- 8 ounces queso fresco
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup of precooked white corn flour (Masarepa or Masa P.A.N. brand)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of corn starch
- 6 tablespoons milk