Summer is here, and with it comes the glory of fresh berries. Strawberries are in full swing, blueberries too. Blackberries are flowering, raspberries are coming on fast. When they’re done, apples and grapes and pears will arrive. It’s time, then, for a paean to the galette, not only the easiest, but arguably the most delicious vehicle for all that bounty. And as fate would have it, galettes are stupid simple to make.
Galette is an old northern French word, specifically Breton, and while it literally means wafer, it’s come to mean a flat cake or pastry for a long time now – Since the 1300s or so. The Breton version, (one of the oldest), is a buckwheat crepe filled with Emmental cheese, ham, and a fried egg, and it’s freakin’ delicious. Nowadays, both sweet and savory galettes are gaining popularity, which is wonderful news – Given the bounty of garden season, it’s the perfect time to look into these little beasties.
Galettes are still expressed as crepes in France, but elsewhere they’re more often goodies wrapped in a pastry crust of some kind. Therein lies the key to the beauty and simplicity of the thing – Stupid simple, as I noted above – All we’re doing here is plopping a bunch of good things in the middle of a sheet of dough, and then folding the edges up so that everything stays put. It looks great, it works, it’s delicious, and you can easily create one as a last minute afterthought – What more could a cook ask for? A galette can be anything from a couple of ingredients to a complex dance of flavors, so they’re not only versatile, they’re great for cleaning out pantry and fridge. Damn near anything goes well baked into a good crust, from berries and stone fruit to cheeses and root veggies.
Alright, so let’s address the stupid simple concept – My real baker friends are gonna cringe at this one, so – sorry, but… Fact is, I keep store bought pie crust, puff pastry, and filo in house at all times. Why? First and foremost, because they’re not all bad – Check labels, and you’ll find plenty of options that are clean. Consumer concern over artificial ingredients has hit this market, and there are plenty of products out there made with good stuff, and they taste pretty good too. Is this option your first choice? Depends – if you’re short on time and want to build something quickly and simply, it may be. If you have a little time and prefer scratch made, (and you always should if you have a little time), then maybe not. Options equal flexibility, and that’s always good. If my Sister, a seriously good cook and cookbook author, has the same in her kitchen, then I’m 100% comfortable with this option. For the record, one of the galette images you see here is store bought dough, and one isn’t – Can you pick out which is which?
On the other hand, making a pie crust from scratch will take about an hour for most of us, and at least half of that is resting time – It’s not a lot of work, ingredients, or trouble, and you’ll get wonderful results. I’ll offer my two favorite variants on method and ingredients, one made with butter and one with lard.
Simple as they are, there’s a few thing to keep in mind when building galettes. Neither your dough nor your filling should be wet. As such, what you use needs to be moist enough to end up tender and flaky, but not too much so, lest it end up a sodden mess. If your dough looks and feels a bit crumbly when you’re rolling it out, that’s fine – Much better that than dough sticking to the pin. Thickness is important too – a galette should be on the thin side of things, but not too thin – 1/8” is just right, so go for that and you’ll be a happy camper. Just keep in mind that 1/8” isn’t very thick in the big picture view, and don’t allow your galette to get overdone – golden brown is what you’re after – not well done toast.
Likewise, your fillings simply cannot be soupy, or even close – If they are, than any caution you applied to your doughs consistency will be for naught. The arrowroot (or cornstarch if that’s what you’ve got) in the recipes will help with this to a good degree nonetheless, avoid overripe, mushy fruit or veggies. If your fruit is lovely, but just bursting with juice, dust the top of your crust with a thin, additional layer of Wondra flour – It’s great stuff for sucking up excess juice. And keep an eye on the ratio of filling to crust – What you’ve got inside can’t be so voluminous that it wants to sneak out over your crust folds. Ratios are considered in the recipes, but every batch of this and that is different, so be vigilant.
Alright, so crust first. Here are the two options I really like and really use.
Vodka Pie Crust – This is brilliant really. The substitution of alcohol for water isn’t there to be sexy, it’s done because the vodka adds moisture to the dough – when it’s baked, booze evaporates faster than water, which leads to a tender, flaky crust pretty much every time. The booze is all cooked off, FYI, so there’s no proof to your galette. You can use other alcohols if you do want a subtle flavor note – Bourbon, rum, gin, and tequila all are great options.
Vodka Butter Pie Crust
2 1/2 Cups Pastry flour
8 Ounces Unsalted Butter (2 sticks)
1/4 Cup Ice Cold Vodka
1/4 Cup Ice Cold Water
1 teaspoon Salt
Pre-measure vodka and water (together, of course), and let them chill in the freezer for about 15 – 20 minutes prior to processing.
Cut butter into roughly 1/4” cubes, then shove the cut butter into the freezer with your vodka and water to chill again.
Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Toss the butter cubes into the flour mix and work quickly and smoothly by hand, reducing each chunk of butter to roughly pea size, making sure they’re all well coated with flour.
Add half the water and vodka to the dry mix and blend it in by hand.
Add half the remaining vodka and water and work that into the dough.
Now grab a golf ball size hunk of dough and give it a good squish. If it’s not holding together well, add a couple of tablespoons more vodka and water and work that in, then give it another test.
Remember, you don’t want galette dough too wet, so lean a bit to the dry side. One thing I can tell you from years working in a bakery is that dough is different every day – This is why I like working it by hand.
Once you’ve got a dough that’s holding together well but isn’t sticky, divide it into two equal balls, wrap it in parchment or waxed paper, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
When the rest is done, pull out a dough ball and set it between sheets of waxed paper or parchment. Squish the dough down to a flattish disk about 6” across.
Roll the dough out to close to an even 1/8”.
Send the dough back to the fridge for another 30 minutes.
When you’re ready to go, transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment and load up your galette.
Your other dough ball can be stored in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. Any longer than that and you should freeze it, wrapped tightly into parchment or waxed paper, and then a layer of metal foil – It’ll be good for 3-4 weeks done up like that.
Some folks swear by lard, and I’m one of them. There is a distinct caveat here though, and that’s that we’re talking about really good lard – Not the block of shit that comes from most grocery stores – A hydrogenated abomination that tastes like… well never mind. What you want is fresh leaf lard, and with the resurgence of butcher shops and carnicerias throughout the land, it can indeed be had. Check around you, see if you have such a place, call them and see if they make and sell leaf lard. If you have that, you’ve got gold. You can also use shortening for this version if you wish – Some folks like that too.
Lard or Shortening Pie Crust
2 1/2 Cups Pastry flour
1 Cup Leaf Lard
5+ Tablespoons Water
1 teaspoon Salt
Cut lard into roughly 1/4” cubes and then chill it, along with your water.
Sift flour and salt in to a large mixing bowl.
Toss the lard cubes into the flour mix and work quickly and smoothly by hand, reducing each chunk of butter to roughly one size and making sure they’re all well coated with flour.
When you’re there, add 4 tablespoons of ice cold water and blend it in.
Now grab a golf ball size hunk of dough and give it a good squish. If it’s not holding together well, add another tablespoon of water and work that in, then give it another test. Keep that going until you hit a consistency that holds together well and isn’t sticky.
Remember, you don’t want galette dough too wet, so lean a bit to the dry side. One thing I can tell you from years working in a bakery is that dough is different every day – This is why I like working it by hand.
Divide your dough into two equal balls, wrap it in parchment or waxed paper, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
When the rest is done, pull out a dough ball and set it between sheets of waxed paper or parchment. Squish the dough down to a flattish disk about 6” across.
Roll the dough out to close as you can to an even 1/8”.
Send the dough back to the fridge for another 30 minutes.
When you’re ready to go, transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment and load up your galette.
Your other dough ball can be stored in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. Any longer than that and you should freeze it, wrapped tightly into parchment or waxed paper, and then a layer of metal foil – It’ll be good for 3-4 weeks done up like that.
Berry Galette
I’ve found this recipe to work with damn near any berry – Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, Marion – They all do really nicely with this blend and ratios.
1 Pound fresh Berries
1/4 Cup local Honey (or Agave nectar)
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
1 small Lemon
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Purée (or good quality extract)
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Turbinado Sugar
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
Pinch Salt
Zest lemon and squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice.
In a non-reactive mixing bowl, combine berries, honey, lemon juice, arrowroot, vanilla, and salt, mix gently but well to fully incorporate.
Crack your egg into a small bowl, add a tablespoon of cold water and whisk to mix thoroughly. You’ll need a pastry brush to apply this, or finger tips if you don’t have one.
Roll a crust out to about 1/8” thickness per above directions. You want a circle about 8” to 9” across.
Lay the rolled dough out on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Spoon the berry mixture onto the middle of the dough, no more than an inch or so thick, leaving 1 1/2” to 2” of dough clear around the edges.
Grab a dough edge and fold it up over the filling a bit. Move left or right as you please and grab another edge of dough. You’re going to fold that slightly over the last one – Dab a little egg wash into that fold to help things stick.
Keep going in this manner – Fold a little dough edge up, stick it to its neighbor, and move on. You’ll end up with a galette roughly 6” to 7” around.
Brush the egg was onto all the exposed dough, then sprinkle the turbinado sugar on the dough.
Cut butter into roughly 1/8” dots and sprinkle those over the exposed berries.
Sprinkle the lemon zest over the berries.
Bake on a middle rack, at 375° F for 25 to 35 minutes, until the galette dough is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling nicely.
Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.
Devour.
Here’s a fave savory version for you to try as well. Filling and baking process is the same as for sweet galettes.
Roasted Potato & Cheddar Galette
2 Medium Yellow Potatoes
1/2 Cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 large Eggs
3-4 sprigs fresh Cilantro
2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
1 teaspoon Lemon Thyme
1 teaspoon granulated Garlic
1 teaspoon granulated Onion
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
Salt
Fresh ground Pepper
Set a rack to a middle position and preheat oven to 375° F.
Pour a little oil on a paper towel and lightly grease a baking pan.
Cut potatoes into roughly 1/4” thick disks.
Toss the potato rounds into a large mixing bowl, then add the oil, garlic, onion, and a couple pinches of salt, with a few twists of pepper. Toss everything by hand to get the potato rounds well coated with oil and seasoning.
Arrange potato rounds on the baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake potatoes until they’re almost fork tender, (kinda al dente) – About 12 to 15 minutes.
Chifonade cut cilantro.
Remove spuds from the oven and sprinkle them with the lemon thyme, then let them cool enough to handle.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk to scramble.
Grate cheddar.
Line a baking pan with parchment.
Roll out a roughly 8” to 9” circle of pie dough (see above for recipes), and transfer to the parchment lined baking pan.
Brush egg wash onto the exposed side of the dough.
Add a layer of spud disks to the dough, leaving 1 1/2” to 2” of dough bare.
Brush the spuds generously with the egg wash.
Add a layer of grated cheese, and about half the cilantro.
Add remaining spuds and cheese and cilantro in a second layer.
Brush egg was onto the second layer.
Grab a dough edge and fold it up over the filling a bit. Move left or right as you please and grab another edge of dough. You’re going to fold that slightly over the last one – Dab a little egg wash into that fold to help things stick.
Keep going in this manner – Fold a little dough edge up, stick it to its neighbor, and move on. You’ll end up with a galette roughly 6” to 7” around.
Brush the egg wash onto all the exposed dough.
Bake until the dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbling nicely, about 15 – 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.
If it were me, I’d throw an over easy egg on top of my slice…
UrbanMonique 