Colombian Cheese Buns (Almojábanas)

Savory but lightly sweetened and with a moist, chewy crumb, almojábanas are cheesy, bun-shaped breads that we first tasted in Ubaté—Colombia’s center of dairy production. The region boasts an abundance of locally made cheeses, such as cuajada and campesino, two types often used in the making of almojábanas. Cuajada and campesino are high in moisture and low in fat, so despite the impressive amounts we saw mixed into almojábana dough, the baked buns were always soft and airy, never greasy or heavy. To replicate that texture using ingredients readily available in the U.S., we turned to a combination of low-fat cottage cheese, salty cotija and Oaxacan cheese. Cotija is dry and crumbly, whereas queso Oaxaca is creamy and mozzarella-like; both are Mexican cheeses that can be found in Latin American grocery stores, as well as most well-stocked supermarkets. In addition to bread flour, masarepa—the precooked, fine-ground cornmeal used to make arepas—is a key ingredient in many traditional recipes. Though it may look similar to products like masa or masa harina, they are not interchangeable—the aforementioned are made from nixtamalized corn, meaning the grain has been treated with an alkali. Corn flour or cornmeal, which are dried and ground but not precooked, won’t do the trick either. Finally, many cooks also add tapioca starch, also called tapioca flour, which contributes the buns’ characteristic chewiness; look for it alongside the cornstarch or alternative flours. Store extra buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days; reheat in a 400°F oven for about five minutes before serving.