Peach Galette

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The month of July signifies some pretty awesome things around these parts: MY BIRTHDAY, Summer, and peach season to name just a few (in no particular order, of course). I have to admit…I am a huge peach lover! In fact, I’m not sure I’ve met a peach dessert yet that I haven’t loved, and the Peach Galette recipe that I am about to share with you definitely ranks high on that list. A Galette is a term used in French cuisine that encompasses a variety of flat, freeform pastries. The pastry can be topped with a sweet or savory filling that gets wrapped up partially by the pastry (or crust), leaving the filling partially exposed. I often think of a Galette as a rustic-looking, flat, pie.

Now, I know that recipes requiring homemade crust can send many running for the hills, but PLEASE don’t be scared away by this one! I make ALL of my pie crusts in my food processor. In fact, I think pastry cutters are a work of the Devil, so I don’t mess with them! And, if you are more of a visual learner, I show you exactly how I do this in my video as well!

So, now that I’ve given you the pep-talk, let’s dive into the ingredients! To make the crust for this Peach Galette, you are going to need flour, sugar, salt, butter, ice water, egg and coarse sugar. For the filling you will need peaches, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salted butter.

Before making the crust, there are some important details we should discuss to help you understand the science behind making a flaky, buttery, crust, rather than a chewy, rubbery one. This pretty much boils down to regulating the gluten activation in your flour. Think of it this way…liquid (in this case, your water) activates the gluten in flour. This is why I elicit the help of my food processor to coat my flour with my fat (i.e. my butter) in order to lessen the amount of free-floating flour that will absorb my water.

Equally important to the gluten activation, is the temperature of your butter and water. They MUST be ice cold. The reason for this is that cold butter will maintain its solid form. When your food processor breaks it down into small, pea-sized crumbs, those solid crumbs then get flattened and rolled out into long strands with your rolling pin which results in those lovely flaky layers we all strive for in our crust. The ice cold water just allows the butter to maintain it’s form while it helps to bind the ingredients together into a dough.

That’s all! I hope that wasn’t too academic for anyone. I just think homemade crust is one of those things that requires a basic understanding of why we use the ingredients we do in the way we do in order to master it.

Okay, onto the method! To make the crust for your Peach Galette, begin by adding your flour, sugar and salt into a food processor fitted with a multi-purpose blade. Pulse 8-10 times to mix thoroughly. Add in the butter and pulse to coat the flour mixture with the butter, and to reduce the butter crumbs to just about pea-size. Gradually add in the ice water, one Tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition. Remove the dough from the food processor, gently form it into a disk (do not overwork it) and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.

Next, preheat your oven to 425°F. While your oven is heating, prepare the filling. To do this, place your peach slices into a large bowl and set them aside. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour the mixture over your peach slices and toss to coat them thoroughly. Lastly, drizzle the vanilla extract over your peaches and mix to incorporate well; set aside while you roll out your dough.

Before reaching for your chilled dough, prepare your work space, by placing a piece of parchment paper on top of a pastry mat. I recommend doing this for a couple of reasons: 1) because this dough is fairly sticky and can be difficult to release from the pastry mat or your countertop even if you flour your surface really well, and 2) because this makes it easier for you to transfer your Galette on the parchment paper right onto your baking sheet.

Flour the surface of the parchment paper well. Remove your dough from the refrigerator and place it on the floured parchment paper. Flour the top of the dough and the entire surface of your rolling pin well. Roll the dough out to about a 12-inch circle. Arrange your peach slices in a circular pattern over the dough starting approximately 2 inches in from the outer edge of the dough. Finish the filling by breaking off tiny pieces of salted butter and scattering them onto the top of the peaches.

Gently fold the outer edge of the dough up and over the peaches, pinching it together where it overlaps to seal it well. Brush the surface of the exposed dough with an egg wash and sprinkle it generously with coarse sugar. Transfer your Galette (on the parchment paper) to a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is just golden brown and the peach juice has turned to a thick syrup.

Rest for 15 minutes before serving. This Peach Galette is equally delicious cold as it is warm. I like to serve it topped with a scoop of vanilla or a generous helping of my homemade Vanilla Bean Chantilly Crème.