How to Make Empanada Dough to Fill and Bake

Step 1

Place 3 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Grate 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter on the large holes of a box grater directly into the bowl. Mix with your fingers or a pastry cutter until butter is fully incorporated and flour is the texture of wet sand.

Step 2

Drizzle 3/4 cup ice water and 2 tablespoons olive oil into the bowl. Mix with a fork until just combined. Transfer onto a work surface and knead just until dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Shape into a ball and wrap the ball in plastic wrap. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough into 4 quarters and roll out each piece into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle that's about 5 1/2-inches wide on a short side. Cut out 4 rounds from each sheet with a 5-inch round cutter. Transfer the rounds onto the baking sheet, separating each layer with sheet of parchment. Gather the dough scraps and re-roll to cut out 4 more rounds. You should have a total of about 20 empanada dough rounds.

Step 4

Place 1 large egg and a splash of water in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling on one half of each dough round, leaving a border. Brush the egg wash on half of the border, then fold the round in half and crimp the edges together with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops of the empanadas with remaining egg wash.

Step 5

Bake the empanadas on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 400ºF oven until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.