This recipe for Pizza Hotteok is my spin on the Korean snack food. It's a yeasted pancake filled with savoury pepperoni, cheese, and tomato sauce.
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What is hotteok?
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Traditionally, hotteok is a Korean round pancake snack made with a yeasted dough and contains a sweet filling.
I've done a Matcha Hotteok where I've flavoured the dough with green tea.
When my kids asked to make pizza pockets for them, I thought it would be great to take that hotteok dough and stuff it with some savoury pizza ingredients.
Why this recipe works
Think of these as easy-to-make, perfectly round pizza pockets.
These Pizza Hotteok are super portable, which make them great for lunches, picnics, or car rides.
They're made with minimal ingredients, and you can choose what you put inside of them.
Ingredients you'll need
For the dough, you'll need:
- all-purpose flour: regular flour will work; if you prefer a chewier texture, you can use bread flour
- glutinous rice flour: is different than rice flour; adds a little chewy texture
- tapioca starch: adds smoothness to the dough
- warm water
- active dry yeast: acts as the leavener
- granulated sugar: adds a little sweetness to counterbalance all the saltiness in the filling
For the filling:
- pepperoni: diced; you could choose to do slices, but I find that diced makes the filling a little more even
- mozzarella cheese: shredded; or any shredded cheese that you like
- tomato sauce: you can use a prepared tomato sauce, or pasata/tomato puree and flavour it with some spices such as oregano, basil, and garlic powder
How to make it
Make the dough:
In a bowl, combine the warm water, sugar and yeast and give it a stir; let the yeast activate and become foamy.
Add the all-purpose flour, glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch into a stand mixer bowl fitted with dough hook attachment.
Pour in the activated yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, add in the salt, and 1 tablespoon oil and knead until smooth and ehiny.
Note: this dough will feel a bit tacky, but will become smooth and elastic with kneading.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave it to rest in a warm location.
Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into 6 equal portions.
Assemble:
Roll out the dough into a round disc.
In the centre, fill with 2 teaspoon tomato sauce, shredded cheese, and diced pepperoni. Note: Be careful not to get any sauce on the outer edges of the dough.
Gather up the edges of the dough and pinch to seal.
Place seam side down and repeat with the remainder.
Cover with plastic wrap/cloth and let it rise until puffy, about 20-30 minutes.
Heat up a flat top griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
Lightly grease with 1 teaspoon of oil.
Add the hotteok to the griddle and press down gently with a spatula to flatten.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, until lightly golden in colour.
How to serve & store
Serve the Pizza Hotteok fresh and warm off the griddle.
You can also enjoy them at room temperature.
Try dipping them in a marinara sauce with fresh basil.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat the hotteok in the microwave or in an ungreased frying pan, until warmed through and the cheese melts.
Expert tips & FAQs
Tip: Keep the filling/sauce in the centre of the dough. Try not to get any sauce/filling on the edges of the dough so that it will be easier to seal.
Can I double the recipe?
Yes, you can easily double the recipe to make 12.
Can I use a different filling?
Absolutely, you use whatever ingredients you like.
Can I bake these?
Yes, you can bake the hotteok, however, they will puff up like buns rather than be like a flat pancake.
For a baked version, try these homemade Pizza Pockets.
Other recipes you may like
If you enjoyed this recipe, you also like:
Matcha Hotteok (Sweet Korean Pancakes)
If you try this recipe, let me know -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!
Pizza Hotteok
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Hotteok dough:
- 120 ml whole milk warm
- 15 g granulated cane sugar
- 3 g active dry yeast
- 150 g all-purpose flour plus additional if the dough is a little feels too sticky
- 15 g glutinous rice flour
- 15 g tapioca starch
- 2 g sea salt
- 20 ml avocado oil divided or vegetable oil
Filling:
- 80 g pepperoni diced
- 80 g mozzarella cheese shredded
- 60 ml tomato sauce/pasata
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a bowl, combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast and give it a stir; let the yeast activate and become foamy.
- Add the all-purpose flour, glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch into a stand mixer bowl fitted with dough hook attachment.
- Pour in the activated yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, add salt, 1 tablespoon (15ml) oil and knead until smooth and shiny.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave it to rest in a warm location.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into 6 equal portions.
Assemble:
- Roll out the dough in to a round disc.
- In the centre, fill with 2 teaspoon tomato sauce, shredded cheese, and diced pepperoni. Tip: try not to get any sauce on edges of the dough or it will be difficult to seal.
- Note: you can add more cheese or pepperoni depending on your taste. Try not to overstuff the hotteok or it may explode.
- Gather up the edges of the dough and pinch to seal.
- Place seam side down and repeat with the remainder.
- Cover with plastic wrap/cloth and let it rise until slightly puffy, about 20-30 minutes.
- Heat up a flat top griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
- Lightly grease with 1 teaspoon (5ml) of oil.
- Add the hotteok to the griddle and press down gently with a spatula to flatten.
- Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, until lightly golden in colour.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Sue
These look so good, and with the pizza filling my guys are going to devour them! Thanks for a great recipe!
Caitlyn Erhardt
My family loved this recipe when I made with for dinner. The flavor was wonderful and it was simple to make. 10/10!
Michelle
Amazing, thanks for trying the recipe Caitlyn! So happy you loved it!
Jessie
These were so amazing!! We had these for our pizza night this week they were a big hit.
Michelle
That makes me happy to hear it, Jessie! Thanks for letting me know!
Amy
Oh I love this fusion recipe! I love Korean hotteok but never thought to add pizza toppings as ingredients! This just might be our new Friday night favourite. The kids will love it!
saif
I have tried Pizza Hotteok once in a Korean restaurant and it was so tasty. Thanks for the recipe
Michelle
You're welcome, Saif! Hope it was as tasty as the restaurant version! 🙂
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Ooo I'm a huge fan of some hood mash-ups, and I love when different cuisines meet in a recipe! This cross between a Korean pancake and Italian pizza is really exciting, and it looks absolutely delicious! Very original, Michelle!
Michelle
Thanks so much Ben! It's one that I'm so excited about since my kids LOVED them! 😀
Raymund
Ohhh this is a great idea for its filling! Love it
Michelle
Thank you Raymund! It was a hit with the kids 🙂
David @ Spiced
This is the first I've heard of hotteok, but I'm fairly certain I would love this recipe! We're always trying to "pizza-fy" things around here, so I support this idea of turning hotteok into pizza pockets. This sounds like a great weekend meal in the basement!!
Michelle
Indeed, anything pizza is always great! Thanks David! I'd be happy chowing on these in the basement with some good TV too! 😉
Jen
Loved this recipe! I ended up baking it at 350 degrees F for 21 minutes rather than pan frying because i did a shoddy job of sealing up the seams, but they are wonderful baked as well. I've frozen a bunch of them for quick and easy dinners! The chewy hotteok dough, crispy crust, and cheesy filling are phenomenal!