Nectarine Galette and photo by Kelly Hong © Sarah Phillips
One of the simplest pie pastry dessert recipes you can make with fresh peaches is a Peach Galette. It is a free-form rustic tart, that is a marvelous blend of elegant and casual. It is baked with my Perfect Pie Dough Recipe without a pie pan, with the crust folded up around the filling and baked on a cookie sheet. They bake up much faster than a traditional pie so you can make one in a hurry. One of the best ways to make it is with peaches, but can be made with any stone fruit. When fresh peaches are out of season, use canned in juice, well drained. I have also successfully used 3 1/2 cups thawed frozen peach slices.
PIE RECIPE HELP
Kelly Hong Says: “Sarah's Fresh Peach Galette is a winner. The crust is tender and sweet and the peaches are the star.”
INGREDIENTS
SARAH'S PERFECT PIE DOUGH / Recipe alone
Makes 1 galette or 1, 9-inch round pie or tart
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
1 cup unbleached flour (spoon into measuring cup and level to top)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed; use water from bowl filled with water and ice
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or cider vinegar
PEACH FILLING
INGREDIENTS
4 ripe fresh peaches or two 15-ounce cans peach slices in juice, well drained and patted completely dry with paper towels; substitute with any stone fruit, such as nectarines, plums
2 – 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or sugar (optional, for fresh peaches, only), plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or more, if desired
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar, for sprinkling on galette
STEP I: MAKE THE PERFECT PIE DOUGH
1. Using the large holes of a box grater shred the chilled butter onto a plate. Freeze the butter for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine.
Add the cold shredded butter.
Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal – no distinguishable pieces of butter should remain.
3. In another mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the egg yolk, ice water and lemon juice.
Tossing the flour with a fork, gradually stir in the liquid until the dough is thoroughly moistened but not wet, and clumps together. You may not need all of the liquid.
To test the consistency of the dough, press the dough together between your thumb and forefinger – it should just stick together with small dry cracks. If it won’t, stir in additional ice water mixture, 1 teaspoon at a time. Gather the dough in the bowl to bring the clumps together. The dough should remain somewhat crumbly.
KELLY SAYS: When I gather my pastry crusts together, I like to dump it out on my countertop and do it there
4. Wrap the finished dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days, before rolling.
STEP II: PREPARE THE PEACH FILLING
1. Blanch and Peel Peaches: You must remove the skins on the peaches before you slice them. The easiest way to do this, is by quickly plunging them in boiling water, called blanching, and, then cooling them in an ice water bath to stop the cooking.
A. Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Water should be at least 4-inches deep. Prepare an ice waterbath in a large large bowl.
B. Cut a shallow “X” in the bottom of the peaches with a paring knife. You do not need to cut deeply…just a little “X” will do.
C. Place peaches, a few at a time, into the boiling water. Have your ice water bath standing by.
D. After a few moments in the boiling water, you will see the skin start to pull away from the peach, where you marked it with an “X”. This is when you know to remove the peach and immediately place it in the ice water bath.
E. When all peaches are blanched and cooled. It is time to peel them. Starting at the “X”, and using a small paring knife, start removing the peach skin. Set aisde.
2. Cut the peaches into 1/2-inch thick wedges and discard the pit.
3. In a small bowl, combine the 2 – 3 tablespoons brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Sprinkle it over the peaches.
Sprinkle the flour evenly over the sugar and spices on the peaches.
4. Toss together the peach slices with the spices and flour, until the peaches are fully coated, taking care not to break them into small pieces. Set aside.
KELLY SAYS: I don't bother with a spoon. I like to get right in there with my hands to mix!
STEP III: ROLL THE PERFECT PIE DOUGH INTO A GALETTE SHAPE, ASSEMBLE AND BAKE
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F.
2. Roll out the Perfect Pie Dough: Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and place on a piece of parchment paper.
3. Beat the dough with the side of the rolling pin to soften it slightly. Cover the dough with a second piece of parchment paper and roll it into a 12-inch round about 1/8-inch thick. Patch and piece together as necessary.
SARAH SAYS: Use a large rolling pin to roll the Perfect Pie dough; it will keep the pressure even, which results in the same thickness throughout.
Starting with the rolling pin in the center of the dough, always roll, with light, even pressure. Don’t roll over the edges because they have a tendency to crack and you’ll thin the dough there. After every couple of strokes, rotate the dough a quarter turn.
If the dough is too cold, it will crack and break up during rolling, so let it sit a few minutes more.
If the dough is sticky or becomes too warm, don’t add flour to the countertop while rolling. Instead, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate as is for about 15 minutes until hardened.
Peel off the top sheet of the parchment paper (if the dough sticks, transfer it to a baking sheet and freeze until the waxed paper can be removed, 5 to 10 minutes).
Slide the dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
4. Starting about 1 1/2-inches from the edges of the dough, arrange overlapping peach slices in concentric circles. Note: Since the fruit will show, it is nice to arrange fruit as attractively as possible, to create a beautiful galette.
5. Carefully fold the dough up around the peaches, pleating it as necessary. The dough will stick to itself. Use gentle pressure as you go around the pie, pleating as you go.
Sprinkle the galette with the 1 teaspoon sugar.
SARAH SAYS: If the dough seems soft and warm, place pan in the freezer for 15 minutes until well chilled. Place pan directly from the freezer into a hot oven.
5. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is simmering, 30 minutes.
KELLY SAYS: Note: The beautiful red peach center in the middle of the galette was just one of this happy accidents.
Cool on the baking sheet on a wire cake rack for 10 minutes. Run a metal icing or pancake spatula under the galette to loosen, and then slide it off the parchment paper onto a serving plate. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream or cooled to room temperature and eaten as is, out of hand.
STORAGE
Galettes are best served the same day. Can be stored at room temperature for a day, well wrapped. Refrigerate galette for a day or more for longer storage. Can be frozen unbaked or baked for a month or more.
