Easy Pan de Bono Recipe (Colombian Cheese Bread)

Making homemade bread is a hobby that I enjoy the most. I just love the heavenly smell of fresh bread in the mornings or afternoons. It’s more flavorful and richer in taste when it’s straight from the oven! Lately, I’ve been experimenting with bread recipes from different cuisines. I’m currently exploring Colombian recipes, and my favorite so far is the pan de bono or pandebono.

In English, it’s known as Colombian cheese bread. It’s packed with layers of flavors from its salty-sweet cheese filling to its soft and crumbly texture. This Colombian bread with cheese is one of their traditional staple breads in Colombia. It was easy making pan de bono since the ingredients were readily available in my local grocery store.

Another great thing about this Colombian cheese bread recipe is that it’s a gluten free bread. This pan de bono doesn’t use any leavening ingredients yet its resulting texture is perfectly appetizing. Instead of yeast or all-purpose flour, this Colombian bread uses two kinds of flour: cornmeal (or masa harina corn flour) and tapioca flour. Other people would use cassava starch or masarepa, which is a pre-cooked corn flour version. Both gluten free ingredients are used as alternatives.

The flour gives it that soft yet crumbly texture while the cheese, milk, and egg ingredients complete its rich and cheesy flavor. I listed a few gluten free cheese options you can try. I used queso fresco (“fresh cheese” in English), a staple Mexican cheese, to really achieve that authentic Latin American taste.

After baking my first batch of pan de bono, I made some Brazilian coffee on the side. The delicious hot coffee paired well with the rich, cheesy flavor and soft and dense texture of the pandebono. I made another batch of these homemade Colombian cheese bread to share with my family and friends. And, of course, saved some for myself to enjoy as breakfast rolls!