How to Make Empanada Dough

Gather the ingredients.

Sift 4 cups all-purpose flour into a bowl. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3 tablespoons sugar .

Cut 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter and 3/4 cup lard (or shortening) into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with 2 butter knives until fairly well blended.

Whisk 2 large egg yolks with 3/4 cup water . Stir in 1/2 cup of the water-egg mixture, a little bit at a time, until the dough starts to come together smoothly, adding more as needed.

Keep kneading the dough, adding more of the water-egg mixture as needed (you may need a few tablespoons extra of water), until the dough is smooth. The dough will seem a bit shaggy until it has thoroughly chilled.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour. When ready to use, the dough should be soft and smooth, not elastic. If you poke the dough with your finger, the indentation should remain.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll into desired thickness before cutting.

Use in your desired recipe and enjoy.