Early in June, a director from Anthropologie reached out asking if I'd create a cooking video with them, and in spite of feeling slightly unnerved speaking to a camera, I quieted my internal limiting belief monologue, and gratefully accepted the opportunity.
As indicated by the title of this post, this is a recipe for a berry galette, but I also want to share the simple, impactful lesson of saying yes to opportunities that scare you at the outset. I was *so* close to turning down this collaboration, in spite of video being an area I've always wanted to explore and share more through, simply out of fear of stepping into something new. Happy to report I didn't die, and getting out of my own way felt liberating.
Ok, enough painful earnestness (cancer season is on its way out, after all) and onto galette making!
A galette is no better or worse than most desserts- and doesn't need any qualifiers or superlatives. It's just a nice buttery, fruity treat that I love to bake year round. The pie crust recipe below yields two galettes (or a double crust pie)- if you're baking one galette only (which is what I typically do), wrap half of the pie dough in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for future baking.
Feel free to sub in different fruit, and adjust the sugar amount to your taste. If you're using very juicy fruit, some very ripe peaches for instance, up the cornstarch by 1-2 tablespoons to prevent a runny filling. I always error on the side of less sweet, sometimes reducing the filling sugar to 3 tablespoons, considering I usually serve a galette with ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, and I like tartness from the fruit to come through.
Crust ingredients:
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) cold butter, diced into half inch cubes
1/2 cup cold water
Fruit filling ingredients:
3 cups mixed berries
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
juice of half a lemon (approx. 1 tablespoon)
small pinch salt
1 beaten egg yolk (to brush crust with) Raw coarse sugar (to sprinkle on crust before baking)
Method:
To make the galette dough, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine, then add cold butter cubes, using your hands to break up any pieces of butter stuck together. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour, until the butter is the size of peas. Work quickly during this process, as you want the butter to stay cold. Alternatively, you can also use a food processor for this step- just pulse the butter into the flour a few times, making sure to not over do it, which happens quickly with a food processor. Finally, add the cold water in two additions- stirring gently and quickly to combine. You're not looking for a smooth ball of dough at this point, it'll be shaggy and rough looking.
Dump the dough onto a clean countertop- it will look like a mess at this point and that’s fine! Grab a handful of the dough and press it together into a somewhat cohesive clump with the heel of your hand, set the clump of dough aside and continue to do the same to the rest. Again, work quickly at this point because you don’t want the heat of your hands/kitchen to melt the butter in the dough. Next, use both hands to gently press the clumps of dough together, then divide the dough in half with a knife or bench scraper. Wrap the two pieces of dough separately into plastic wrap, using your hands to pat each piece of dough into a circular disc. The thickness of the dough isn’t important here, just go for a rough circular shape, then immediately chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
When the dough has chilled for an hour, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then prepare your filling by gently stirring berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt together until the sugar and cornstarch coats the berries- the lemon juice helps everything stick together. Set filling aside.
Prepare a large baking sheet (rimmed, in case your galette filling leaks, most do) by covering the sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
On a clean, lightly floured countertop, unwrap one disc of chilled pie dough, and use a rolling pin to gently roll the disc into a roughly 12” in diameter circle. When rolling, keep rotating the dough as you roll, to ensure the dough isn’t sticking to the counter. Add a bit more flour to your countertop if the dough starts to stick. Don’t sweat little imperfections here, an imperfect circle is fine, as are a few cracks on the edges of the dough.
Transfer the circle of dough to your parchment lined baking sheet, and add the filling to the center of the dough, then use a spoon to spread the fruit around, leaving a 1” border of the dough untouched by fruit. Fold the dough up every couple of inches, the number of pleats in the galette is up to you. Every galette I make looks different, and I like that about them. At this point, if your kitchen is very warm or you feel the galette dough is quite soft, place the galette in the freezer for about 5 minutes to firm it up, then remove and brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg yolk, and sprinkle the egg yolk brushed crust with raw sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees on the center rack for 30+ minutes, until the crust is deeply golden brown and the fruit is very bubbly. I always error on the side of slightly over-baking rather than under, to ensure the bottom of the crust is crispy. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Delicious as is, or served with whipped cream and/or ice cream :)