Happy almost-Super-Bowl! I couldn’t help myself from making another pretzel recipe for the game.
We will be watching the big game by ourselves at home, in our pajamas. With tons of food – way, way too much for 2 people.
Actually, we don’t usually watch the game in solitude like this, but my current job is a lot more socially stimulating than the one I had for the past few years, and being an introvert (in the sense that talking to people drains me of energy), I find myself needing more down time at home than I used to. I think you’ve gotta listen to your body on these matters. Plus, we won’t have rowdy guests to complain about afterward and everything we eat gets to be vegan. I’m trying some recipes from other bloggers that I’ve had my eye on for a while, so it should be fun 🙂
I know it’s a little late to add a yeast bread recipe to your Super Bowl lineup, but maybe for watching the Olympics? Or anytime, really. These baked pretzel empanadas are pretty insane. It kind of reminds me of Hot Pockets, back when I used to subject my body to ingesting those (college/grad school). They had a pretzel bread version that was definitely my favorite.
We tried out several different fillings – this was our favorite: pureed cauliflower and roasted garlic, & sliced roasted red bell pepper. Yum!
So consider these pretzel empanadas to be like pretzel Hot Pockets, except that they leave you feeling satisfied and happy, instead of leaving you full of disappointment and empty calories.
Hope that whatever you’re doing for the Super Bowl (or whatever you are doing this weekend instead) is relaxing & fun!
Baked Pretzel Empanadas
Empanada dough is stuffed with a variety of fillings, and then baked (not fried!) with a pretzel style crust for a moreish fusion food.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp neutral oil (I used grapeseed oil)
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (or substitute additional oil)
Crust:
- 5 cups water
- 5 tbsp baking soda
- coarse salt
Filling:
- see recipe notes for suggestions
Instructions
Proof the yeast:
- Gently stir together the warm water, yeast and maple syrup in a large bowl. Wait 5-10 minutes or until you can see it starting to foam.
Make the dough
- Add the salt, flours, oil, and applesauce, and mix together. If mixing by hand, knead for 5-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and stretchy. If using a Kitchenaid or other stand mixer, run it on low for about 2 minutes and then increase the speed, mixing for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly spray the top of the dough with cooking oil and cover it with a damp towel, then set in a warm area for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Fill the empanadas and prepare them for baking
- Divide the dough into 16 approximately equal-sized balls and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat sheets. Keep the damp towel covering the ones you are not working with, whether filled or un-filled.
- Take a ball of dough and flatten/roll it out into a disc shape, between 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch in thickness. You'll need to feel it out here and see what works best for your dough. If needed, lightly oil the surface that you use for this step - I wouldn't recommend flouring it.
- Add a small scoop of your filling - approximately 1/4 cup - onto one half of the disc. Fold the other half of the disc over and use a fork to press the edges together and seal the filling inside.
- When all of the empanadas are filled, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil in a saucepan and add the baking soda. One by one, gently drop the empanadas into the water for only 10 seconds, until they float back to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon, and place them on the baking sheets.
- Sprinkle coarse salt over the tops of the empanadas while they are still wet from the baking soda wash.
Bake:
Bake at 450 Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes, until they feel firm and the tops are a nice golden brown.
- Caution: insides will be extremely hot.
Recipe Notes
Here are the fillings we used:
Cauliflower and roasted garlic puree + roasted red bell pepper slices; soyrizo + caramelized onions (soyrizo recipe link is in the post)
Some other fillings that I think would be really tasty are refried beans and salsa, spinach artichoke dip (recipe link is in the post), or pizza sauce and cashew mozzarella (see pizza bread recipe link is in the post). But you can fill them with whatever you desire!
NUTRITION: Nutrition data excludes fillings.
A few filling ideas:
Cashew mozzarella and pizza sauce
Submitted to Yeastspotting.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Deb says
Made filled with Daiya and tomato sauce and loved them.
Peggie says
Hi Shannon! These look amazing! I am wondering how I could make them gluten free though. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Peggie
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Peggie, I’m honestly not so sure how well swapping in gluten-free dough would work here. Gluten-free yeast breads still sort of elude me/I haven’t had much chance to experiment with them yet. I don’t believe it’s as straightforward as just swapping in GF all-purpose flour. If you end up playing around with the recipe please let me know though!
RaeAna says
Stumbled upon this site and love it! A fairly recent (evo-lacto) vegetarian myself (is 3 years considered recent?) I am constantly looking for veggie recipes to add to my repertoire. It is hard to find decent dishes that don’t include mushrooms (allergic). As an avid pinner, I find myself wanting to pin every recipe I’ve come across so far.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hmm, I would say after 3 years you are somewhat of a veteran now! At least in the sense that you’ve demonstrated that you can stick with it, and figured out a routine that works for you. I can promise you that there will never, ever, ever be mushrooms in any recipe on this website =P. Thanks for visiting – I really appreciate your comment!
Jessie says
Can I use anything to substitute for the maple syrup like agave or something?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Jessie, if we don’t have maple syrup we usually just use plain sugar, but I don’t see why agave wouldn’t work, or most other sweeteners. The yeast needs sugars to feed on so just don’t use Splenda or anything like that.
Cheryl says
I’d never thought to make empanadas in a pretzel-style dough, and they sound positively amazing. Filled with maybe mushrooms and a nootchy queso?! Or go super healthy (let me live in my dream world, please) with some homemade vegan hot dogs and mustard! 🙂
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Both of those are great ideas!! No mushrooms for me but my partner is a mushroom + nootch fiend and would love if I made that combo for him. I would so eat the hot dog & mustard one. I’m going to have to make them again!
Katie @ Produce on Parade says
Wow! Those are awesome! Todd would love those. I agree with the excessive necessity of downtime 😉
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Being a lover of relaxation… it’s a blessing and a curse!
Laura @ This is Thirty says
Oh my goodness – these look delicious! I’m super excited for the Super Bowl tomorrow (and all of it: football, food and commercials)!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Same here 🙂 Go Hawks! (for me anyway). Thank you!