From my first freeform tart made with pie pastry and fresh fruit, I was hooked. Galettes have the flakiness of pie crust but a roasted-fruit center and taste both rich and light.
The galette’s downside is that without a pie plate, the bubbling juices tend to leak through any tiny gap in the pastry. I long stuck to a light layer of firm fruit, like in Huckleberry-Rhubarb Galette, and only baked juicy cherries and berries into two-crust pies.
Then I discovered a technique used by food writer Claire Saffitz that soaks up juices as the galette bakes: sprinkle cornmeal or breadcrumbs between the pastry and the fruit. The crumbs soften until invisible and let me double the pear slices layered in this galette. An egg wash helps seal the edges and gives the pastry a golden glow.
Fresh Pear, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Galette
Serves 8
1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ultrafine sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4-6 tablespoons ice-cold water
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cool water
1-1/2 pounds pears, cored and thinly sliced
Lemon juice for drizzling
2 tablespoons panko
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ultrafine sugar and salt. Work in the butter and zest with your fingertips until mealy crumbs form. Drizzle in a tablespoon of ice water at a time and work it in briefly with your fingers, until the dough starts to cling together. On a piece of parchment, press the dough into a disc, wrap it up and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the goat cheese and honey until smooth. Separately, whisk together the egg white and cool water. As you slice the pears, drizzle and toss with lemon juice to keep them from darkening.
Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured surface. After about five minutes, beat the surface with a rolling pin, making it more pliable, and then roll out a 12-inch circle. Transfer the circle to a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly mark off a 9-inch circle in the dough’s center. Sprinkle the panko evenly over the marked-off area.
On the breadcrumbs, arrange a layer of pear slices, overlapping as needed. Dollop and spread sweetened cheese over the pears and sprinkle with rosemary. Continue layering the rest of the pears, cheese and rosemary.
Brush the dough border with egg wash. Fold one edge of the dough to slightly cover the fruit, and then continue folding and pleating as you work around the circle, leaving the center exposed. Press the pleats firmly to seal them together, and then brush the visible dough with more egg wash. Sprinkle the pastry and pears with the turbinado sugar. Refrigerate the galette for 10 minutes to firm up the pastry.
Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, until the crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cutting.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.