Making Homemade Hot Pockets

I tend to avoid anything prepacked because of all the unknown and extra ingredients. However, sometimes it is nice to have a snack or lunch that is quick and ready to go. This recipe was sent to me by my sister Allison. These little ham and cheese pies brought back memories of a family who lived down the street from the house I grew up in. I remember watching the mom roll the dough, add the ham and cheese on one side, fold the other side over and using a fork she pressed the edges closed to seal it. Those pies were so good we burnt our fingers trying to eat them straight out of the oven.

The day I made these I discovered I did not have any all-purpose flour on hand. Instead I used white wheat and instant yeast, which I mixed right into the flour. The dough was very wet and hard to work with so I let the dough rise for an hour. My sister later told me it was not necessary. But it was much easier to work with. She agreed that the dough was very sticky but a little flour sprinkled on the board was enough to allow her to cut the dough. I cut rectangles the size of a hot pocket then rolled the dough to double the size. The result is as my sister put it, “a crispy pocket on the outside and a “grilled cheese sandwich” on the inside. Makes 8 to 10 pockets.

Source: Ehow
2 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
6 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
3/4 tsp soda
slices of cheese
slices of ham

Mix yeast and warm water. Let sit for five minutes. If yeast does not bubble up throw it out and start over.
In a bowl combine the buttermilk, oil and sugar. Add yeast mixture.

In a large bowl sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix in remaining flour. Knead until smooth. Roll out a little thinner than biscuits. Cut with a large biscuit cutter. Add ham and cheese slices. Fold over and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.

Freezing:
After the hot pockets have cooled, place in a freezer bag. To cook, remove from the freezer and place in the microwave for 1 minute at a time until heated through.



4 thoughts on “Making Homemade Hot Pockets”

  • I need help, I will just cook 3 to 5 piece of these hot pockets.. How will I subtract the measuring in this recipe? Please reply.. I need this in my feasibility..

  • Mara, these freeze really well. So if you only want to cook 3-5 you could make them them all and then freeze the extra pockets. You could also freeze the extra dough. Just wrap it in saran wrap and place in a zip-lock bag. My third suggestion would be to attempt cutting the recipe in half but as I have not done that I am not sure of how the dough will come out. That would equal to 1 pkg yeast, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup oil, 2 tbsp sugar, 3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 3/8 tsp baking soda.
    Hope that helps. The cooking time may vary since you are not cooking so many so set the timer for ten minutes and keep checking. They should cook until they are a nice golden brown color.

  • Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. Yes it will rise in the refrigerator. The dough will also rise a little in the freezer but because of the frigid temperature it does not rise as much. I have seen recipes for refrigerator breads that are mixed and then rise in the refrigerator over night. These types of doughs may be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. I am not sure of the outcome using this type of bread dough but I would suggest mixing the dough and then putting it straight away into the refrigerator but only if you plan on using it the next day. Since it is going to rise make sure to put it in a large covered container. Best of luck. Please let us know how it all works out.

    My little ones love conducting rainy day kitchen science projects. I will have to put this one on our list for this week.