Fruit Galette
A pastry that requires some time, but gives high returns!
This is a pastry dough that requires a little more time and finesse than most, but I promise you it’s so good that you’d keep returning to it. It’s probably the best pastry I’ve ever made and it is worth every second of effort.
It’s rustic, buttery, delicious, and doesn’t require more than a few pantry staples.
But of course if you’re short on time, go ahead to use store-bought puff pastry with any leftover fruits!
This is my favourite part…flattening sheets of butter into the flour to create layers of flakiness in the pastry!
*We’re using apples here, but feel free to use any fruits you have lying around – pears, peaches, apricots, bananas, berries, etc!
Pro tip for bananas: slice half lengthways and toss them in some lemon juice before laying them onto the pastry. If you want to jazz things up, you can caramelise them in a pan with some butter and sugar first! I love using the small Asian bananas for this.
…the crumb is to die for
Here’s a version I made with some pears which I got from treatsure, an online platform that works with hotels and retailers to save food waste. Go check out their phone application – I pretty much use it on a weekly basis to get my fruit and vegetables now!
THE RECIPE
SERVES 3-4
Ingredients
Pastry
180g flour
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp granulated sugar
170g COLD butter, cut to 1” slices
3 tbsp ice water
Filing
2 large pears, sliced thinly (*see the post for other options)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp sugar (optional if fruits are sweet)
Jam, watered down with some water (optional)
1 tsp granulated sugar
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tsp water)
Directions
Add the salt and sugar into your flour and mix well.
Prepare the dough by first tossing half the flour onto your work surface. Lay the cold butter onto the flour, and add the remaining flour mixture on top.
With a rolling pin, flatten the butter into sheets, and use a bench scraper to bring the mass together into a loose pile.
Place the pile into a large bowl and sprinkle 3-4 tbsp ice water. Mix with a spoon until incorporated, and press the dough down gently into the bowl a few times to press everything together. Work fast so the dough doesn’t get too warm.
Sprinkle your work surface, rolling pin and dough with flour, and roll the dough out into a rectangle about ¼” thick. You want to constantly make sure that the butter does not stick to the rolling pin nor the work surface, so dust generously with flour! Once rolled into a rectangle, fold the two edges into the centre (like a letter). It is normal if it looks crumbly and loose.
Give the dough a 90˚ turn and repeat the rolling and folding.
Repeat as before, until the dough begins to hold together. The final dough should look creamy. Test by squeezing it in your palm and it should hold together loosely.
Once ready, fold in the edges and press it into a circle 1” thick. Chill for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180C and prepare the filling. Place the sliced pears into a bowl and season with lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar (if needed). If the fruits are juicy, you may add in some cornstarch to absorb some of the liquid.
When the dough is ready, place it on a lightly-floured work surface and dust the top of the dough with flour. Roll it out into any shape you fancy, and lay the pear slices in the middle.
If using jam, brush the top of the fruits with it (light clear jams work best: peach, rhubarb, marmalade, etc) and fold the edges of the dough in. The jam acts as a glaze!
Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with some granulated sugar. Bake for 30 minutes at 180C. Serve with yoghurt or ice cream, and a dusting of cinnamon.
Notes
Another alternative to the dough would be my 3-ingredient pie crust! If you can’t be fussed about making your own dough, you can get away with store-bought puff pastry for this recipe!
To switch things up, you can roll in some crushed nuts into the pastry. Walnuts and pecans would work well!