A traditional and handy recipe for Empanada dough, you can use it for baking or frying. Enjoy. Empanadas are a staple of Latin cuisine, found in all countries with different fillings.
Tips for some delicious empanadas:
Can I freeze the empanada dough?
I do not recommend it. The dough gets very difficult to work.
Is this dough good for fried empanadas?
Yes, the recipe for the dough is the same. Heat the oil to 350F or 180C, no more, or the empanadas will remain raw inside and very golden on the outside.
What can I do so the empanadas do not burst in the oven?
It is essential to keep an eye on them and prick them with a toothpick when they inflate so that the steam escapes and does not burst.
Why do you recommend dividing the dough into portions, not rolling half, and cutting the rounds with a plate?
The more times you roll the dough, gather leftovers, and use it again, the more challenging to work the dough becomes. It loses flexibility, and the dough bakes hard because it develops a lot of gluten.
Do you have a sweet empanada dough recipe to recommend?
Yes, this one is easy to work with and has a great flavor: Pear Empanadas.
Uses of Empanada Dough in Chile:
The most traditional ones are the Empanadas de Pino (onion, beef, hard-boiled egg, raisins). Many families eat them every Sunday for the big family lunch. Also, Fried Shrimp and cheese Empanadas are found in coastal towns and restaurants. Kids are usually big fans of the Cheese Empanada.
For more filling recipes, I recommend:
Argentinian Empanadas (Mendocinas)
Homemade Empanada Dough Recipe
A basic empanada dough, perfect for the oven or to fry.
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 20
Ingredients
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1 tablespoon fine salt
• 1000 grams all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 180 grams lard, butter or shortening, melted
Instructions
1. Make a brine with the milk, hot water, and salt, and stir to dissolve the salt completely.
2. Mix the flour and eggs in a large bowl or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and mix for a minute to incorporate. Add the melted shortening and work a little more. At this point, you will see only crumbs.
3. To form the dough, add the brine with the mixer running on low speed until the dough is soft and flexible. If you need more moisture, keep adding water (1 teaspoon at a time).
4. Separate the dough into 20 portions and cover with a moist cloth. Work each piece individually, rolling until thin, cut in a circle of about 7″ and fill with your choice of filling and bake.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Savory
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 281
- Sugar: 0.8 g
- Sodium: 357.2 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.9 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 6.1 g
I would love to see a video on how to do the fold! I was recently in Maipu Chile and absolutely loved the empanadas! My dough is more like pie crust. Theirs was more like bread. I so want to learn to make them!
Yeah, our dough is more elastic. I will do a video next time I make empanadas.
Pilar I love your recipes but this one needs a bit more clarity:
• For the flour, 1 or 2 pounds? Which one is the correct amount?
• 180g is still in Metric and not US units (yes we can convert, just saying).
Hi Ricardo,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I have an automatic converter for US/metric, but sometimes it doesn’t get the memo.
I write the recipes in grams, so always go by that if in doubt.
Here, use 1000 grams of all-purpose flour.
Ik vind chili een prachtig land en het eten ook .als ik 30 jaar jonger zou zijn ,zou ik er een trektocht door maken .
Mijn grote liefde kwam ook uit Chili ,helaas is hij te jong overleden .we hebben samen een zoon
Nog heel veel succes
I’m sorry to hear about your loss.
Hi Pilar! I’m trying to think of how to save time with this recipe for part of Christmas dinner. Using a regular sized deep dish pie plate, could I use this recipe to bake my empanada dough and filling into a pie instead of individual empanadas? Let me know your thoughts!
P.S. your recipes have brought so much joy to our family!
Yes, you could do that.
Another option is to make the empanadas (the whole process baked them normally and all) now or a week in advance and keep them frozen. Then they go straight from the freeze to the oven to re-heat. They do very well.
I’m so glad the recipe is a hit with your family.
Will this recipe work with gluten free all purpose flour?
Most likely, I don’t see why not, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do, please.