Summer Fruit Galettes

As long as there are still peaches, plums, apricots, berries and nectarines to be had, I’m buying them up and making pies and galettes. A galette is a free-form pie, more rustic than a tart. Although they’re usually made with classic buttery pie dough or puff pastry, I’ve been working at developing a dough recipe that is delicate and tasty but not too rich. I decided that a yeasted dough could work, and came up with a formula that yields enough for two galettes but has only 60 grams of butter (about 4 tablespoons). The flavor is nutty and rich because of the whole-wheat flour, but the dough isn’t heavy. The trick is to roll it very thin, then freeze it right away so that it doesn’t continue to rise and become too bready, and also so that it’s easy to work with when you are ready to assemble the tart. The dough works beautifully for these free-form galettes.

Make sure to dust your work surface well before you roll out the pastry. I roll mine out on a large silicon mat called a Silpat, which I recommend if you make pies because the dough won’t stick. Let the dough rest for a few minutes after each few passes with the rolling pin so that it doesn’t shrink back, as yeast doughs will do. If you keep letting it rest, you won’t have trouble achieving a thin 12- to 13-inch round.

Dessert Galette Pastry

This yeasted dough is very easy to roll out. It’s sort of a cross between a pizza dough and pie crust dough, wholesome because of the whole-wheat flour but not heavy. The almond flour contributes a nutty flavor and delicate texture, but it’s optional; I’ve made the dough with and without. The easiest way to work with this pastry dough is to freeze the thin disks right after rolling out. They’ll thaw in no time.

5 grams (1 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast

115 grams (1/2 cup) lukewarm water

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten

135 grams (1 cup) whole-wheat flour

155 grams (1 1/4 cups) unbleached flour

25 grams (1/4 cup) almond powder (also known as almond flour; optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

60 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature