Feb 06 2008
How to make empanada dough for baking
Published by Laylita at 8:08 pm under All, Basics, Empanadas, South America
Making empanada dough is not as hard as it sounds, especially if you have a food processor, and even if you don’t it is still pretty easy because the dough should not be overworked and requires minimal kneading. Also, these days it is very easy to find the empanada discs already made (frozen) in Latin grocery store, and even though I was skeptical at first they are actually quite good, but it also always fun to have them homemade and you can also customize the dough by adding spices, herbs, etc that will complement or contrast with the fillings.
Ingredients for 15 medium size or 25 small empanada discs:
3 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 oz unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cold and cut into 12 pieces
1 egg
4-5 tbs water
Preparation:
- Mix the flour and salt in a food processor.
- Add the butter, egg and water until a clumpy dough forms.
- Form a ball and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
- Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.
These look so great…I always wanted to make these, ate them quite a bit when living in NYC! Thanks for sharing process photos.
Very easy to make, if you can make tart dough you can make these.
this recipe sounds great. my father is from argentina and i grew up loving empanadas. living in ny, it was real easy to find them in queens. i live in nc now and i haven’t been able to find anywhere that sells them and I tried fixing my own using a Cook’s Illustrated recipe but it didn’t compare. I’m definitely going to try making these this weekend. They look delicious.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m hoping to make empanadas really soon.
Great blog btw.
Hola Layla,
My father was born and raised in Argentina (hey Vanessa!), and he taught me how to make empanadas. I use a different dough recipe, but I see that yours has an egg, which must make the dough a bit more elastic. I’ll give it a try next time. Thanks!!
Ciao,
Sandy
I am a big fan of dumplings in all forms. Growing up in Japan, I ate a lot of gyoza, shumai, and manjyu. They have many different forms of dumplings.
I have never made empanadas but I had them many times. I am glad that I have recently run in to your blog. Going through it, appears to me that you have perfected your empanada recipe. I especially like the leek empanadas. I am going to try making couple with out making my home made dough. But rest assured, I will be trying it from scratch.
Thanks for the inspiration.
im going to try the recepie looks good and easy to make. t/y
Laylita,
Thanks! I’ve been a fan of empanadas since before I can remember, and everywhere I go I have to try them! I just recently made some for a family in Hawaii using Opa, a yummy white fish. They were a big hit, and your recipe had been what helped me get a new perspective on making the dough. Muchísimas gracias! =)
-Kaitiki
Hi Kaitiki - Thanks for the feedback, fish empanadas sound delicious!