Soft Parmesan Cheese Rings: Golden Baked Bread Donuts for Afternoon Coffee

They look like donuts. They smell like a cheese shop. And they taste like the softest bread you have ever pulled apart with your fingers.

These little golden rings are my favorite thing to bake on a rainy afternoon.

A Country-Style Snack Worth Waking Up For

In the farmhouse kitchens of Brazil, the afternoon coffee break is almost sacred. Around three or four o'clock, families gather for a cup of strong coffee and something homemade from the oven. One of the classics on that table is rosca de queijo, cheese rings: soft, golden bread shaped like a donut, with sharp cheese in every bite.

They are not sweet like the donuts from a bakery case. They are savory, tender and fluffy, closer to a dinner roll, with grated Parmesan kneaded into the dough and sprinkled on top, where it bakes into crisp, toasty little patches.

The ring shape is not just for looks. It gives every bite a nice balance of golden crust and soft middle, and the rings bake quickly and evenly. They are also fun to shape. If you have little helpers in the kitchen, they will love poking the holes with their fingers.

I love these warm from the oven with butter melting into them, but they are just as good at room temperature in a lunch box, next to a bowl of tomato soup, or split and filled with ham for a quick sandwich.

The dough is easy, made by hand in a big bowl, and the baking time is short. Before you know it, your kitchen will smell like a country bakery.

Let me show you what you need to make a batch.