Arepas (unfilled)

Arepas

Process

1. Dough
   1. Stir the salt into the warm water
   2. Add the corn flour, start kneading with hands and squeezing out any lumps. The dough will be wet at this point but will dry during the rest.
   3. *** Rest for 5 minutes ***
   4. Divide the dough into portions
   5. Roll each into a ball then pat it out into a disc - form a nice vertical edge around the sides. The discs should be approx 4 inches diameter and ½-inch thick
      1. If the dough seems dry or cracks add a little more warm water and knead through
2. Cook
   1. Oil on medium heat - make sure to wait until it’s heated
   2. Fry for approx 5 minutes per side - they’ll colour and get some browned spots.
   3. Bake on a wire rack for 30 minutes at 180C, flipping half way -- they should puff up a bit and have a taut outer skin
   4. IF FOR LATER TODAY
      1. Rest on a wire rack, covered, unstuffed, not in fridge
      2. Proceed to ‘reheat’ below when ready to serve
   5. IF FOR TOMORROW
      1. Store in fridge, unstuffed
      2. Proceed to ‘reheat’ below when ready to serve
   6. IF FOR NOW
      1. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes then slice them in two and add whatever filling is needed.
         1. Note they will be soft inside, this is fine.
3. Reheat
   1. Reheat the arepas in a dry pan or 180C oven for 5 minutes until hot and crisp
   2. Allow to cool slightly then slice
   3. Stuff with the warm filling mixture
   4. Back in the pan/oven for 5 minutes until melty