Description
This foolproof empanada dough recipe yields tender, flaky rounds perfect for stuffing with your favorite fillings. Made with simple ingredients like flour, cold butter, water, and vinegar, this dough is easy to prepare and quickly comes together with a short resting time for optimal texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¾ cup (177ml) water
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) white vinegar
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt until well combined.
- Cut in Butter: Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to blend it in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, ensuring small pea-sized butter pieces remain.
- Add Liquid: In a separate bowl, stir together the water and white vinegar. Gradually pour this liquid into the flour and butter mixture while stirring, to form a rough dough.
- Knead: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead it for 1 to 2 minutes until it becomes smooth. Be careful not to overwork the dough to keep it tender and flaky.
- Rest: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or cover it with a towel. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax and the dough to hydrate.
- Roll & Cut: After resting, roll out the dough to about â…›-inch (3mm) thickness on a floured surface. Use a round cutter between 4 to 6 inches in diameter to cut out dough circles, ready for filling and shaping into empanadas.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is very cold to achieve a flaky texture.
- Do not over-knead the dough, as this will make the empanadas tough.
- Resting the dough is key to relaxing the gluten and making it easy to roll.
- If not using immediately, wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- For crispier crusts, bake empanadas at 375°F (190°C) until golden brown.
