A couple of weeks ago I got together with two friends, and, as always, our topic of conversation turned to food. I’m not sure why pastries, fruit pies and galettes became the center of attention, but before I could even stop myself, I enthusiastically invited them over for a baking party at our house next week.
Danish pastry was the original idea, but I wasn’t keen on using premade puff pastry and if we took the steps to make homemade laminated dough, our fun little party would turn into an all-day affair. I decided fruit galettes to be a much more suitable endeavor, requiring the perfect amount of effort and time.
Yesterday I test-drove my plan. For the filling, I chose a few plums left from our plum trees and three sweet, juicy nectarines sitting on our counter. I also decided to add some frozen blueberries for color.
This humble, rustic pie was like biting into the last warm days of summer.
Stone fruit and blueberry galette. Pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry) recipe from Martha Stewart
Pâte brisée ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup ice water
Fruit filling ingredients:
- 3 nectarines or peaches, cut into 3/8-inch (1cm) slices
- 2 plums, cut into 3/8-inch (1cm) slices
- Small handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon (or less) milk
- 1 tablespoon apricot preserves (optional)
- Additional sugar for sprinkling on galette (I used organic sugar for this because I love its texture)
Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator (save second piece for another project) and roll out on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. You should end up with a circle about 14-inches in diameter. If dough splits at the edges while rolling it out, pinch it together. Place prepared dough on parchment or silpat lined rimmed sheet pan. (Edges of dough will hang over slightly.)
Combine fruit with the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Arrange fruit on pastry dough, keeping a 2-inch border. Sprinkle butter cubes over fruit. Fold pastry up over the dough, pinching it together where it overlaps.
Using a pastry brush, lightly brush milk over pastry. Sprinkle with scant amount of sugar.
Bake galette for approximately 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is dark, golden brown and fruit is bubbly and cooked. Remove from oven and brush fruit only (not pastry) with melted preserves.
