Pear Galette

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taylor's tips

Don't stick to just pears, think strawberries, apples, peaches.
Rustic shape is forgiving for beginner cooks.
Wrap in plastic wrap and a freezer-safe Ziploc bag, and store in the freezer for up to one month. Allow to thaw for ~15 minutes before working.
Make up to a day or so ahead of baking.

A staple recipe to memorize, makes a flexible dough that can hold plenty of fruit. Vinegar adds a tart kick in addition to creating a slight lift with the baking powder (think Science Fair volcanoes).

ingredients

4 oz unsalted butter, cold, cubed
6 ½ oz AP flour, frozen
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp baking powder
3 oz cream cheese, cold, cubed
1 ½ Tb cold water
1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
4 each ripe pears, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
⅛ tsp nutmeg
pinch kosher salt
1 Tb Demerara or other coarse sugar

directions

Preheat the oven to 400.
Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a ziplock bag and freeze for 30 minutes.
Place the cold flour mix in a food processor and pulse for 20 seconds.
Add the cream cheese and process for 20 seconds until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add the frozen butter cubes and pulse until the butter is pea sized.
Remove the cover and add the water and vinegar, pulse until small pea sized. The mixture will be in particles and not hold together.
Spoon the mixture back into the ziplock bag and press together until it’s formed into a disc.
Remove from the bag, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Combine the sliced pears, sugar, nutmeg, pinch of salt and vanilla in a mixing bowl, let sit for 30 minutes.
Unwrap the dough from plastic wrap and place between 2 sheets of waxed paper.
Flatten with a rolling pin and roll out into a large disc 1/4” thick.
Gently transfer the dough to a cookie sheet and chill if too warm.
Arrange the pears in rings leaving an inch of border for the crust.
Fold and pinch the border over.
Brush the border with water and sprinkle with sugar.
Place in the oven on the middle rack with a sheet tray underneath to catch any juice spill off.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Then check to see if the dough is getting too dark, if so make a foil cover and place loosely on top. Resume baking for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 20 minutes.