BLACKBERRY PEACH GALETTE

SERVES 8

The thing about berry pies is the filling gets even better if it has some time to hang out and develop. Adding herbs, citrus, booze, or spices will amplify the berry flavor in a heady treatment that makes a galette just a little more special, but it also leads to a very juicy galette, likely to leak. Here blackberries and peaches combine in one of the quintessential flavor duets of summer’s symphony. I give the filling a boost with mint and lime, steeping them with the peaches for a quick flavor injection. Separate the fruit from the juices for the first chill, then pour the juices in just before the galette goes into the oven. I like to use a glass cup measure with a spout for this.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 recipe All-Butter Pie Dough (recipe below) formed in a disk
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 (2-inch) swaths lime zest, removed with a vegetable peeler, avoiding the white pith
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 cups (170 g) peeled and pitted peaches, chopped into 1-inch cubes (about 3 to 4 medium)
  • 3 sprigs fresh mint
  • 1 cup (120 g) blackberries
  • 1/2 cup (21 g) fresh bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cool water and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
  • Sparkling sugar

DIRECTIONS

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm slightly. Roll out the dough to a 12-inch round and place on the baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate while making the filling.

Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lime zest and juice together in a large bowl. Gently fold in the peaches and mint, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and let the filling sit for 1 hour on the counter. Remove and discard the mint sprigs and lime zest. Gently stir in the blackberries, so they aren’t crushed.

Scatter the bread crumbs across the center of the dough round, leaving a 2-inch border. Lift the fruit out of the bowl using a slotted spoon, leaving all the juices behind, and place in the center of the dough round. Reserve the juices. Scatter the butter over the top of the fruit. Lift the outside edges of the dough and pull them up and slightly over the filling, leaving the center exposed. Work your way around the galette, folding the dough over on itself and forming a series of pleats that make a snug little package. The center of the galette should be open, but there also should be a very distinct crusty edge to hold in the filling. Brush the galette with the egg wash and sprinkle sparkling sugar generously over the surface.

Chill the galette for 30 minutes.

Place a Baking Steel, baking stone, or inverted baking sheet on the center rack and heat the oven to 400ÅãF. Pour the reserved juices into the center of the galette. Slide the baking sheet with the galette onto the hot stone, steel, or sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply golden brown. Cool for an hour or more before serving. Try a little scoop of cr.me fraîche on the side.

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ALL-BUTTER PIE DOUGH

Makes 1 recipe pie dough

Be a fearless pie baker with this dependably delicious, absolutely consistent pie dough. It is my hands-down favorite crust. It is easy to handle, freezes beautifully, and crimps like a dream. This crust fits the bill whether baking up a sweet or savory galette, hand pie, or popper.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1⅓ cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
  • 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, cubed and frozen for 20 minutes
  • Scant pinch kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water

DIRECTIONS

Place the work bowl of the food processor on the scale, set the scale to zero, and weigh the flour into the bowl. Weigh in the butter and add the salt. Move the bowl to the food processor base, insert the metal blade, cover, and use the Pulse function to cut the flour and butter into flour-covered pea-sized pieces, about 15 quick pulses. Add the ice water all at once and process until the dough almost comes together in a ball. All the flour will be dampened and the dough will clump.

Spend time on this next step because the more compact and precise the dough, the easier it is to roll to the correct size and thickness. Form an X with two long pieces of overlapping plastic wrap and lightly flour the surface. Dump the dough onto the center of the plastic wrap, scraping the processor bowl clean. Wrap the sloppy gathering of dough in the plastic and, at the same time, use a bench scraper (not your warm hands that might melt the butter clumps) to form the dough into a 4-inch disk or a 3-1/2- by – 3-1/2-inch-block. Once wrapped, use a rolling pin to gently press across the surface of the dough, then flip it over and do the same on the

other side. Now let it rest: Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Alternatively, slip the plastic-wrapped dough block into a ziptop bag and freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost gently, overnight in the refrigerator.