Mixed berry galette

I'm so happy I made a double batch of pastry dough when preparing the Summer squash lattice top tart. That made this mixed berry galette a snap to assemble. This is my first sweet galette, but I've made plenty savory tomato galettes this year and last. One difference between the savory galette and the sweet galette is that the berries will expel more liquid than the tomatoes. For that reason, a few adjustments are needed. First, you will need to add a few teaspoons of cornstarch or flour to thicken the juices. Next, I recommend rolling the dough a little thinner (about 1/8 inch thick) and preheating the baking sheet to crisp the bottom of the galette.

My pleating of the crust wasn't beautiful this go around, but no sweat, a galette should be "rustic". And when served by the slice no one will ever know the difference. You can make this sweet treat with any type of stone fruit or berries. I topped the berry galette with freshly whipped cream, but later I was thinking cinnamon-vanilla ice cream would be fabulous on it. (Aug 8, 2014)

Ingredients for Mixed Berry Galette

Crust

• 2.5 cups (315 grams) All purpose flour

  • 1 stick of unsalted butter- chilled, slice into pats, then dice into 1/4 inch pieces

  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar

  • 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 to 1 cup ice cold water

• egg wash (1 whole egg + 1 tbsp water, beat with fork)

Filling:

• 1 quart strawberries- wash, pat dry, sliced

• 1 pint blueberries- wash, pat dry

• 1/2 pint blackberries- wash, pat dry

• 3 teaspoon cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon lemon thyme, plus few strand for garnish

• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar

Directions for Mixed Berry Galette

1. Pastry Dough- Place 1 cup of water in freezer to chill for 10 to 15 min. In a large metal bowl {metal tends to keep the dough cooler than plastic or glass bowls}, whisk together dry ingredients. Add chilled, diced butter cubes. Use a pastry blender or 2 forks to mix together dry ingredients and butter. The mixture should be lumpy with butter, but well coated in flour. Start to drizzle ice cold water, 1/2 cup to start, over the flour/butter. Ditch the pastry blender and use hands to incorporate. Continue to add small amounts of ice cold water until dough can be held together. Knead dough, only 4-5 turns, should still have very small pea sized pieces of visible butter. Shape dough into round disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven = 375 degrees F. Place baking sheet on middle rack.

3. Slice strawberries and place in a large bowl with blackberries and blueberries. Sprinkle cornstarch over the berries and toss to coat. Set aside.

4. On a floured surface, place chilled pastry dough. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 14 inch disc, approximately 1/8 inch thick. Place dough onto a pizza peel, lined with 2 parchment sheets (slightly overlapping in the center of the dough) and lightly floured.

5. Scoop fruit onto the galette dough, leaving about 1 inch border around the edge. Scatter lemon thyme over the fruit.

6. Pleat the edges of the dough about every 2 inches. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash to the dough. Lightly sprinkle the edges of the galette dough with sugar.

7. Carefully transfer galette and its parchment paper onto the baking sheet that was preheating in the oven. Bake for a total of 55-60 minutes. During the last 15 minutes of baking time, gently remove the parchment paper. Loosely tent the galette with foil if edges are turning too brown.

8. Cool 10 minutes prior to serving. Cut the berry galette with a serrated knife and top with freshly whipped cream or ice cream.