Standard Masa for Empanadas

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Published Aug. 5, 2020

Standard Masa for Empanadas
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(244)
Comments
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Masarepa is cornmeal that has been precooked, dehydrated and ground into a fine powder. It’s used all over Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia for a variety of recipes, including arepas and empanadas.

Featured in: A Colombian Chef Shares His Secret to Better Empanadas

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Ingredients

Yield:About 24 (3-inch) empanadas
  • 2cups yellow masarepa (about 10 ounces)
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine masarepa, salt and 2 cups tepid water in a large bowl. Stir with your hands and massage into a smooth dough.

  2. Step 2

    Take a small ball in your hand and press it flat. If the dough cracks, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is smoother and workable. (Small cracks around the edges are OK.)

  3. Step 3

    Cover masa and set aside to rest for at least 15 minutes before using. Masa can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge in a zip-top bag.

  4. Step 4

    For empanada assembly and cooking instructions, proceed to Step 6 of this Colombian Beef and Potato Empanadas recipe.

Ratings

4 out of 5
244 user ratings
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Comments

Fransisca

Hi, can we use regular corn flour instead of yellow cornmeal? Thank you.

Sonia

This recipe turned out great for me! Make sure to use P.A.N or another form of masarepa, regular corn flour will not turn out the same because it's not precooked. It will end up being tasteless and not the right consistency. You can buy P.A.N brand masarepa on amazon! Also, it's COLOMBIA not Columbia. This is every Colombians biggest pet peeve :)

deltaboy1

He just says that he has spied the brand P.A.N. in homes and restaurants in Columbia, not that it is a Columbian brand. ;-)

Mm

This was a disaster for me. I made as written and the door was so wet. I kept adding more mass Arepa but I could not get the dough to work for the empanadas they just kept cracking I don’t know if it’s too much water or at that point to Little I watched multiple videos and just had zero luck.

Barbara

Not hearing from others, I used the Maseca that I had in the pantry, that I use for tamales, and it worked just fine! I thought that they were a little pale before frying, but they came out beautiful - and delicious!

Barbara

Also wondering if I can use Maseca instead of Masarepa? I think I’m more confused than ever after doing a quick search on the internet! Please help!

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