Sugared and Peppered Plum Galette

The genius galette—unfussy, easy to make, and fully customisable—is presented in 50 mouthwatering recipes in a book that every baker needs in their library.

The galette is a rustic, free-form tart. It requires a few simple ingredients, and minimal equipment, meaning that with some pantry basics, a home cook can put one together for no more than the cost of fresh (or frozen!) produce. A galette can be sweet or savoury, filled with any imaginable combination of fruits or veggies, meats, cheeses, and spices. Great for a party, they can be prepared in advance, but they also come together quickly when you’re in a pinch—and galettes can be made year-round with whatever produce is available.

Galette! celebrates this humble pastry, offering easy-to-follow and customisable recipes. With one basic crust recipe, endless galette possibilities are within reach. Incorporate summer’s bounty into a galette with peaches and granola or use pantry items in a galette with marinated artichokes and tomatoes. Brown-Buttered Apples and Honey, rolled out and baked like a slab pie, is the perfect dessert for a crowd, while individual Lemony Spinach and Rice galettes work well for a family dinner.

No matter the filling, galettes are the ideal, foolproof bake for home cooks.

Galette!: Sweet and Savory Recipes as Easy as Pie by Rebecca Firkse by Dunja Gulin is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.

Sugared and Peppered Plum Galette

Plums just belong in galettes. The tart, floral orbs practically beg to be swaddled in buttery pastry. The beet-red flesh of Black Splendour plums (which you can find at the supermarket in season) is especially gorgeous when it comes to contrasting colour with the crust. But why not play around with a handful of varieties if you can find them? Whichever plums you choose, dress them with black pepper and a splash of herbal dry vermouth.

Call it gilding the lily, but instead of ice cream or whipped cream, a slice is excellent topped with freshly shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of honey in addition to the grassy olive oil.

SERVES 6 TO 8

2 pounds (910 g) fresh plums

(8 to 14), pitted and halved (quartered if larger than 2 inches/5 cm)

⅓ cup (65 g) sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (optional)

1 tablespoon dry vermouth or apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt

1 standard disk A Good Crust (see below)

Egg wash: 1 large egg, beaten Fennel seeds (optional)

Good extra-virgin olive oil (optional), for serving

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack positioned in the centre. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss together the plums, sugar, tarragon (if using), vermouth, cornstarch, pepper, and salt.
Roll the dough into a round and set it on the lined sheet pan using the Basic Method (page 34).
Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving a 2-inch (5 cm) border. Fold the edges of the crust over the filling toward the centre, overlapping and pleating as desired. Freeze the galette on the sheet pan for 10 minutes.
Remove the galette from the freezer and brush the egg wash over the exposed crust. Sprinkle fennel seeds (if using) and more sugar over the crust.

A Good Crust

A galette is essentially half crust and half filling, so the dough’s flavour is of the utmost importance. Butter, as opposed to shortening or another fat, makes the richest, most flavourful pastry. Sugar balances the salt and fat and aids a bit with browning—include it for sweet and savoury galettes alike. Add a water-vinegar mixture by the splash for hydration (see page 28). Folding the dough over itself a few times (similar to a technique known as turning, more commonly found in pastry recipes like croissants or puff pastry) brings the mixture together and makes an extra-flaky crust.

The butter must stay cold in order for the dough to maintain its structure, then slowly melt and puff in the oven. To ensure this, chill the wet ingredients before they’re incorporated and bring the dough together quickly. It’s not a race, but don’t stop for a phone call halfway through. Save that pause for after you’ve wrapped up the dough, when it absolutely needs at least 2 hours’ rest to relax and hydrate completely before being rolled out.

This recipe makes enough dough for 2 standard galettes (or 4 tiny ones per disk of dough). Make one galette today, freeze a disk of dough for later. Alternatively, combine the entire batch of dough into one “XL” crust, for a sheet pan–sized slab or an extra-tall galette baked in a springform pan.

You can use this dough to make any galette in this book, but if you’re interested in going the extra mile with a flavoured crust, see the Variations (page 39).

MAKES 2 STANDARD DISKS OR 1 XL DISK

½ cup (115 g) water

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2¾ cups (345 g) spooned and leveled all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon sugar

1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton kosher salt

2½ sticks (10 ounces/285 g) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (13 mm) cubes, chilled

In a liquid measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the water and the vinegar. Place this in the freezer while you work on the next steps.
In a large bowl, use your fingers or a fork to combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
Add the butter to the large bowl and use your fingers or a fork to gently toss around the butter to coat it in the flour mixture. Use your fingers to smash and rub the butter into the flour mixture until it forms flat pieces mostly the size of cannellini beans (about ¾ inch/2 cm) with some smaller (think chickpeas and lentils; about ½ and ¼ inch/13 and 6 mm). The mixture should still look dry and crumbly.
Remove the water-vinegar mixture from the freezer. Drizzle half of the water-vinegar mixture over the flour-butter mixture. Working from the bottom of the bowl up, use your fingers or a fork to gently toss the mixture together, as if you were tossing a salad. Drizzle over another splash of the water-vinegar mixture and toss. Continue to drizzle and toss until a shaggy, chunky mixture forms. It should not be completely combined yet, but there also should be no totally dry areas of flour (look for pebbles of moistened flour, not pure powder).You may not need the full amount of water-vinegar mixture. When in doubt, err on the dry side: You can always add liquid, but you can’t take it away.
Here’s how to know if you’re in a good place: Pick up a handful of the mixture and squish it. It should mostly hold its stuck-together shape; if not, drizzle an additional 1 teaspoon water-vinegar mixture on the driest areas and toss again, repeating until it holds together.
Dump the mixture onto a clean work surface and use your hands to pat it together into a rectangular mass about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. If you find any more areas that look totally dry, drizzle them with another 1 teaspoon water-vinegar mixture.
Use your hands or a bench scraper to fold the mass of dough over itself. Press down the dough until it’s about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick again. (The dough shouldn’t be moist or sticky, but if so, sprinkle it with a bit of flour as you fold.) Repeat folding and pressing down the dough two or three times. As you fold the dough over itself, the shaggy mass will form into a cohesive dough (this is also going to help the crust bake off extra-flaky). The butter should not blend all the way in, and the surface of the dough should look like marble or wood grain.
If making a standard disk (check your galette recipe): Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a piece of plastic wrap. If making an XL disk (check your galette recipe): Place the entire slab of dough on a piece of plastic wrap.
Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap, then press it into a round or rectangle (see Note) about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days. (Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months; when you’re ready to bake, see How to Thaw Frozen Galette Dough, page 33.)

NOTE: Shaping your dough into the approximate shape of your galette (round, rectangular, etc.) will be helpful when rolling it out, but it’s not imperative to achieve success. In fact, I typically shape my dough into squares for easy stacking in the freezer.

ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH

Depending on which galette you’re making, the dough will be rolled out a bit differently. Your galette recipe will note which of the following methods to use (bookmark this page now; you’ll be coming back to it). If at any point your dough starts to get sticky during the rolling process (more likely to happen if your kitchen is warm or if you’ve used butter with a high fat content), return it to the plastic wrap or a sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to firm it back up, then pick up where you left off.

NOTE: Galette dough bakes most successfully when it isn’t overworked, and that applies to rolling as well. Apply firm, even pressure, and roll from the center of the dough out to the edges.

BASIC METHOD: For a round or rectangular free-form galette baked on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Use 1 standard disk (see photos, opposite).

Remove the rested dough from the refrigerator and let it sit out for 5 to 10 minutes (this allows the dough to soften slightly, making it easier to roll out, without getting too warm). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Dust a work surface lightly with flour.

Unwrap the dough, sprinkle it with flour, and use a rolling pin to roll it out, flipping and turning the dough and adding more flour as needed to avoid sticking, into a round about 13½ inches (34 cm) in diameter and between ⅛ and ¼ inch (3 and 6 mm) thick; or a rectangle about 14 by 11 inches (33 by 28 cm) and between ⅛ and ¼ inch (3 and 6 mm) thick. If at any point the dough starts to crack, press it together with your fingers.

Gently fold the dough into quarters (this is just to help you move it; don’t press down), place on the parchment-lined sheet pan, and unfold. From here, return to the galette recipe.

SLAB METHOD: For an extra-large rectangular free-form galette (like slab pie!) baked on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Use 1 XL disk.

Unwrap the dough, sprinkle it with flour, and use a rolling pin to roll it out, flipping and turning the dough and adding more flour as needed to avoid sticking, into a rectangle about 20 by 14 inches (50 by 36 cm) and between ⅛ and ¼ inch (3 and 6 mm) thick. If at any point the dough starts to crack, press it together with your fingers.

Gently fold the dough into quarters (this is just to help you move it; don’t press down), place on the parchment-lined sheet pan, and unfold. From here, return to the galette recipe.

TINY METHOD: For 1- or 2-serving free-form galettes baked on a parchment-lined sheet pan. One standard disk of dough makes 4 tiny galettes; one XL disk makes 8.

Remove the rested dough from the refrigerator and let it sit out for 5 minutes (this allows the dough to soften slightly, making it easier to roll out, without getting too warm). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Dust a work surface lightly with flour.

Unwrap and cut a standard disk into 4 equal portions or cut an XL disk into 8 equal portions (about 95 g each). Use your hands and the work surface to shape the pieces into round disks. Sprinkle one piece of dough with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out, flipping and turning the dough and adding more flour as needed to avoid sticking, into a round about 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter and ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. If at any point the dough starts to crack, press it together with your fingers.

Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. If the kitchen is warm, transfer each rolled-out round to a large plate or sheet pan (it’s okay to stack them) and set in the refrigerator while you finish rolling out the rest. From here, return to the galette recipe.

PAN METHOD: For galettes baked in a greased 9- or 10-inch (23 or 25 cm) springform pan, cast-iron skillet, pie plate, tart pan, or cake pan.

While you prepare the crust and filling, place an unlined sheet pan in the oven to preheat. (Placing the galette pan on a hot flat sheet pan will conduct more direct heat to the bottom of the vessel than oven grates alone will.) Don’t skip this: The sheet pan will also catch any leaks that spring as the galette bakes, especially important for springform and tart pans, which have removable (not sealed) bottoms.

Unwrap the dough, sprinkle it with flour, and use a rolling pin to roll it out, flipping and turning the dough and adding more flour as needed to avoid sticking, into a round about 13½ inches (34 cm) in diameter for a standard disk or 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter for an XL disk. Either version should be between ⅛ and ¼ inch (3 and 6 mm) thick. If at any point the dough starts to crack, press it together with your fingers.

Gently fold the dough into quarters (this is just to help you move it; don’t press down), then drape it into the greased pan, letting it slump into the corners and hang over the rim. From here, return to the galette recipe.