One of my favorite fruits to use in a galette is mango. During the summer months our two trees produce a good harvest of fruit that we use in all sorts of recipes. But not everyone has access to mangos so any number of other seasonal fruits or berries are suitable. I particularly like strawberries. They make a gorgeous galette that bakes up beautifully. The crust holds up well and leftovers, if any, are a real treat with coffee the following morning.
The strawberries found in the markets can vary in sweetness. It’s a good idea to buy ones that are ripe and juicy in appearance but not at all soft. Strawberries are quite perishable so plan on making the galette within a day or two of buying your strawberries.
The crust for this galette is excellent. It holds up well to the juicy strawberry filling and does not become soggy even if you have leftovers the following day.
I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (vegan and lactose free) but feel free to use regular unsalted butter as the original recipe calls for. Whatever you choose to use, make sure it does not sit out on the counter and is well chilled. Buttery Sticks are not as firm as regular butter so I freeze the cubes for 15-30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
If I am short on time I freeze the wrapped dough for 30 minutes instead of chilling it in the refrigerator for a few hours.
A little sugar is stirred into the berries which will give them a bit of sweetness, but not too much.
The strawberries are gently tossed into a mixture of strawberry jam that is mixed with cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
Roll the dough out on parchment paper. Transfer the rolled out dough to your rimmed baking sheet and continue with the recipe.
Leave a 2-inch border (sometimes I end up with 1 1/2-inches!) to fold over the filling. The original recipe calls for brushing the edges of the galette with some of the reserved strawberry juice and sprinkling sugar over the edges before baking. Try not to apply too much of the juice as it is quite thin and will drip down the sides of the crust. You can brush the crust with a bit of lactose free half and half or whole milk instead, then sprinkle with sparkling sugar. The coarse-grained sugar adds a beautiful sparkle and sweet crunch to each slice of the baked galette.
The dough is pleated every 2 inches to shape the galette and keep the strawberries the center of attention.
I brush a bit of warmed strawberry jam over the strawberries once the galette is done baking. It gives the galette extra flavor and a beautiful sheen.
- Dough:
- 1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 10 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Sticks cut into ½-inch cubes and frozen for 15 - 30 minutes (or unsalted butter well chilled)
- 6 tablespoons ice water
- Filling:
- 1½ pounds strawberries, hulled, halved if small or quartered if large (about 5 cups)
- ¼ cup (1¾ ounces) granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam + 1 tablespoon, divided
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coarse sparkling sugar
- For the dough: Process flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined, about 4 pulses. Scatter Buttery Sticks cubes over the top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand and butter pieces are the size of small peas, about 10-12 pulses. Add ice water to flour mixture and pulse until dough begins to form small curds and holds together when pinched with your fingers, about 5 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to a lightly floured counter. Gather dough into a rough rectangular mound about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Starting at the farthest end, use the heel of your hand to smear a small amount of dough against the counter, pushing firmly down and away from you. Continue doing this while turning the dough as you go. Continue until all the dough has been worked, about 8 times. This is a process of working the crumbles of flour, butter, and water together into a dough by smearing them against the counter, making for a sturdy, flaky crust. Form dough into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze (if short on time) for 30 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- For the filling: One hour before rolling out the dough, toss strawberries with ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside for 1 hour. Reserve 1 tablespoon strawberry juice (if using for crust). Drain strawberries in colander while rolling out dough.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on parchment paper. Transfer dough on parchment paper to rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Whisk jam, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Add drained strawberries and toss gently to coat. Remove dough from refrigerator (I transfer to dough to a second rimmed baking sheet that hasn't been chilled) and mound fruit in center, leaving a 2-inch border. Grasp one edge of dough and fold up 2-inches over fruit. Repeat around circumference of galette, overlapping dough every 2-inches. Firmly pinch pleated dough to secure. Sprinkle reserved 1 tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries. Brush top edges of dough with reserved strawberry juice, half and half or whole milk and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- Bake until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Let galette cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Warm reserved tablespoon of jam. Brush jam over the berries. Let cool for 15 minutes. Using parchment, carefully slide galette onto serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
