I have tried the twisted edges, I have tried a fork, I even bought an empanada press. No matter what they come open. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? Tried brushing edge with water before sealing too. Is it my dough?

by ataylorm

40 Comments

  1. flan_de_coco

    Have you tried eggwash on the edges instead of water? Some fillings may also be more prone to expanding or bubbling out then others. If this is cheese or something I could see it happening.

  2. Any-Year-6618

    That looks like some really thick dough, I’ve never made or had empanadas where the dough was that thick, 4” also seems a little small, so could it be they’re too small for how thick they are? I’ve only made them 3 times so not very experienced with these

  3. Cuttewfish_Asparagus

    Cook slightly higher temp and for shorter. That often resolves overflow

  4. jmccleveland1986

    I think it’s your dough. Empanadas don’t get holes so ignore those people.

    Your dough looks more like pizza dough. Like a calzone. Those do need holes because of all the steam.

    Empanada dough is tougher. Shorter. More like pastry.

  5. BuryMe_In_Smoke

    When you close the seams turn them upside down and push them with you fingers again on the seam beafore baking

  6. Elegant-Pressure-290

    I make a lot of empanadas. If you’re sure you’re using a good recipe for the dough, I believe you’re just not rolling it thin enough, and you also aren’t clamping down hard enough. Roll it thinner, stuff it, and really push your fork down until the tine marks are almost see-through.

  7. Competitive-Care8789

    Maybe leave a little room for expansion? The dough looks great though!

  8. Press out any air pockets when you fill them. Crimp them hard. Egg wash for glue, but not too much!

  9. crestamaquina

    Roll them much thinner (like… half this thickness or less), try a bit less filling, bake for 20 min tops.
    I usually weigh my empanada dough first and each piece is 50-70 grams tops, those make pretty large pieces.

  10. Brilliant-Kiwi-8669

    Know your dough. Don’t over fill. Egg wash the heck out of everything.

  11. Overfilling.

    When the filling bakes, it generates steam, the pressure expand the filling. If the problem was with the dough, the pies would burst open on the tops and on the sides without seams, and at the seams. Since the top and un-seamed sides expand and show no signs of pressure cracks, it can be assumed the dough has both the necessary strength and elasticity.

    Seams are the path of least resistance, so they burst when there’s too much pressure from overfilling.

  12. H8ersAlwaysH8

    Thought these were sea turtle shaped pastries.

  13. IKilltheplayers

    Honestly i bet, it would taste better like this.

  14. LanBanan3000

    If your filling has a lot of water content it will create steam and blow open.

    Try lower-water content fillings

  15. Disguised_Apple

    Never had empanadas before but they look super tasty regardless if they are popping open!

  16. break_thesilence

    Damn. I don’t care if the whole thing falls open I’d eat it like a taco. Looks delicious!!!!!

  17. Vents. The dough need holes in it. I use a fork to prick some vents in my Jamaican meat patties & never a problem other than a poor seal. Looks delish btw.

  18. Next_Boysenberry1414

    I would say too much moisture in the filling or the dough is not strong enough.

  19. missdead_lee138

    I’ve made hundreds if not thousands of empenadas in my lifetime. I will say it’s your filling causing that problem
    It’s too wet .
    I usually stuff mine with ground meat and cheese, spices. Never had this problem.
    Can I ask what you’re using as filing?

  20. mywordstickle

    Make sure you’re getting all of the excess air out of your filling and squeezing the excess air out before sealing it. I had a similar problem when I tried to start making large batches for freezing. I was mixing the filling in an electric mixer before stuffing them. It was adding a ton of air pockets that would then expand when I cooked them.

  21. Argentinian here,

    Personally I would cook them way hotter. I usually do 500deg for 10-12min. I poke twice with a fork. Seal with 13 folds no water.

    Using wet recipes is really tough..

    My recipe for cheese is: shredded mozzarella, jack, Parmesan, crumbled Gorgonzola, green onions, 1 egg, cornstarch

    Exploded empanadas still taste great and yours sounds delicious!

  22. Billy_BlueBallz

    No idea but those look freaking delicious! What kind of empanadas are those?

  23. mossy_path

    Possibly over stuffing.
    Possibly crimp those edges down harder

  24. thelauryngotham

    These look incredible (besides coming open)! Is there any chance you could post the recipe 🙂

  25. Use a toothpick to make a little hole on the top, that way the vapor cam come out and the empanada won’t open

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