the challenge with a good flaky crust is keeping your cool while working quickly and efficiently. cool hands, cool bowl, cool, butter, cool water. i like to use a metal bowl and utilize the freezer to keep the situation from heating up. i’m also not a fan of letting the pie dough rest in the fridge (who has the time?) preferring setup ahead of time and work fast. as long as the butter never warms and you don’t over-handle the dough before it hits the oven, your golden!
this recipe is nice, in just about an hour you can be done with galette in hand! peel and slice the apples first. then get the butter grated into the flour and the bowl in the freezer. next get your apple filling to the saute stage. while that happens mix and roll out your crust. filling goes in and the whole number into the oven, voila!
filling
1 Tbl ginger -peeled & freshly grated
1/4 tsp nutmeg -freshly grated
1 Tbl butter
1 Tbl honey
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 cups apples -peeled, thinly sliced
crust
6 Tbl frozen butter
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour and more for dusting
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 ice water
a little extra butter for the warm crust
Preheat oven to 375. measure the flour and salt into a medium size metal bowl (if you don’t have a metal bowl that is ok). remove the butter from the freezer and grate into the bowl. put the entire bowl in the freezer for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, place the apples, butter, honey, lemon juice, nutmeg and ginger in a pan. gently stir to incorporate over a medium heat. leave alone to saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring only occasionally. the apples will soften and the sauce will thicken with a delicious aroma, once this has happened, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Back to the dough! when the butter and flour are cold, remove from freezer and gently but quickly work the butter into the flour w/ your fingertips. add the cold water starting with 1/4 of a cup, adding more by the tablespoon just until your dough comes together. i like to do all this by hand, working by feel. if your dough feels at all warm, place it in the freezer for another few minutes. flour your workspace and roll out your dough. place your circle of dough (10-12 inches in diameter) either on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or in a pie dish. add the filling, leaving a good 2 1/2 inches on all sides to then fold over the filling. to me, this is what makes a galette so pretty, the lazy folding of dough over the filling creating a wavy edge that reveals its fruity center. there is the option here of adding a few berries (7-9) on the top of the filling because it looks beautiful. drizzle the filling not covered by dough with honey and plop into the oven. bake for for 40 - 50 minutes until the edges and bottom golden. remove from the oven and gently rub a bit of butter on the exposed crust and filling. serve when the moment arises.