When I first started writing my latest cookbook, I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to think of enough galette recipes to fill its pages. My challenge soon became quite the opposite. Just about any produce, like sweet summer blackberries or juicy heirloom tomatoes, even caramelized onions—not to mention chocolate and frangipane or meat and cheese—tastes wonderful wrapped in flaky pie dough.
Galette!: Sweet and Savory Recipes as Easy as Pie
But what is a galette, exactly? While some refer to certain French desserts, like buckwheat crepes and puff pastry cakes, as “galettes,” in the US, the term is used to describe a kind of freeform pie consisting of a pastry crust that has been rolled out and loaded with toppings. The edges of the pastry are then folded around the perimeter of the filling before baking. Galettes can be sweet or savory and are often assembled and cooked right on the baking sheet.
If I had one galette baking tip to share, it would be this: Don’t be afraid to increase the cooking time. Some ovens are less powerful than others, and the main cause of a soggy bottom crust is taking the galette out of the oven too soon. Let that exposed crust get deeply golden brown—just shy of burnt, in fact. This will guarantee the bottom bakes to a delectable crisp.
