
Summer Mixed Berry Galette
August always reminds me of the beginning of berry season back in the American North East where I come from. Irresistible just picked fresh berries are on display in all the local farmers markets and at roadside farm stands that dot the countryside. A cooks delight to be sure!
What vividly comes to mind is making all sorts of summery mixed berry galettes. This French free form tart is so easy to make you will be find yourself whipping them up not only throughout the berry season, but into the winter months as well using frozen berries that you have put up in your freezer. I have to say, a warm galette coming out of the oven in the dead of winter brings back a taste of summer that is a pure delight that lifts the spirit.
Preparing a batch or two of your favorite flaky tart dough and freezing rounds gets most of the work for making a galette out of the way in advance. The berries require just a bit of sugar, a dash of lemon juice, and a little flour, that is then tossed together. The berries are then placed in the center of the rolled out dough and the edges of the dough are folded over the berries to create a rim. The galette is then baked for about forty minutes and…voila!
Keep in mind this idea works beautifully with any combination of mixed berries as well as berries combined with seasonal fruit as well.
I have included a recipe for a flaky tart dough from Elizabeth M. Prueitt’s TARTINE cookbook which has come to be my very favorite tart dough recipe. It is easy to handle and consistently delivers a perfectly light and flaky crust when baked.
Flaky Tart Dough  makes two 10 to 12 inch tart or pie shells (or double the recipe and freeze dough for later use)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup very cold water
- 3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 10 ½ oz/300 g unsalted butter, very cold
In a small bowl combine the salt and water and stir to dissolve. Refrigerate so it is very cold when ready to use.
To make the dough in a food processor, put the flour in the work bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and scatter the pieces over the flour. Pulse briefly until the mixture forms large crumbs and some of the butter is still the size of peas. Add the salted water mixture and pulse for several seconds until the dough begins to come together into a ball but not smooth. You should still be able to see some butter chunks.
On a lightly floured work surface divide the dough into two equal balls and shape each ball into a disk 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 f /180 c with rack positioned in the center of the oven.
Line a large shallow baking tray with parchment paper.
Remove a round of well chilled dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Let the dough soften for a couple of minutes before beginning to roll it out.
Then roll the dough out working from the center to the edges into a 12 or 13 inch round. Transfer the dough to the parchment lined baking tray and put it in the refrigerator to chill the dough while you prepare the berries.
Berry Filling   for 1 galette
As most berries are not grown here in the tropics I used imported blueberries and raspberries, and frozen lingonberries, but by all means use locally grown fresh berries when available.
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 cups fresh red raspberries
- 2 cups other fresh berries of choice
- 3 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or Greek yogurt
- granulated sugar for sprinkling
- 1 or 2 tsp corn starch mixed with cold water
Combine the all the berries in a large bowl and add the sugar and toss. Set aside for ten minutes and then drain off any excess juices and reserve to use later. If you are using frozen berries you will have considerably more juices to drain off and reserve. Taste the berries and add additional sugar if needed.Â
Once the juices have been drained off add the lemon juice and flour and toss to combine and set aside for a couple of minutes.
Give the berries a final toss and again pour off any excess juices into the bowl of reserved juices.
Gently mound the berries over the center of the dough leaving a generous 2 inches of border. Then fold the dough over the fruit around the edges creating a rim that will retain the juices while baking.
Ideally there will be no leakage of juices, but to be honest that is usually not the case, but not to worry. The parchment will capture any leaked juices that will solidify on the parchment while baking. The parchment can be trimmed off later with a sharp knife before serving.
Mix the egg yolk with the cream (or Greek yogurt) and brush the dough overlapping fruit around the edges of the galette with the egg wash and generously sprinkle with sugar.
Transfer the galette to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Then turn the baking tray 180 degrees and continue baking another 20 minutes or until the edges of the galette are nicely browned.
While the galette is baking place the reserved berry juices in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Stir 1 or 2 teaspoons corn starch mixed with an equal amount of cold water and slowly stir into the simmering juices. Continue to stir until the juices thicken into a sauce. Taste the sauce and add sugar if needed. Transfer the berry sauce to a small pitcher and set aside to cool.
When the galette has finished baking remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once cool, trim the parchment paper around the galette and discard. You can then easily transfer the galette to a serving plate.
Serving
Slice the galette into wedges and place on individual dessert plates. As it is summer, vanilla ice cream is the perfect accompaniment, along with some of the berry sauce. Whipped cream is the alternative for fall and winter serving.
                 Bon appetite!

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