Peach galette

What do you think about galettes? I always find them better looking than tasting, but it's worth the fuss of making one just to see how good it looks in the end. And, once it's done, you'll like the taste of it, too. You might like it a lot, actually, because I'm the weird one, I know.

So, take a deep breath, clear you schedule for the next two hours and let's go!

Pie crust

First you have to decide which crust you prefer: pate brisée or pate sucrée. As the name suggests, pate sucrée is sweeter than pate brisée (which is fragile and bland, if you ask me), I am a fan of pate sucrée, but here are both recipes, please choose one.

Pâte brisée

350 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

220 grams (1 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

60 - 120 ml ice water (1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Directions

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor, and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 15 seconds. Add 60 ml (1/4 cup) of water and process until the dough begins to clump, but does not yet form a ball. If the pastry does not hold together when you squeeze it between your fingers, just add a little more water, one tablespoon at a time. Check the consistency after each tablespoon you add. Try not to process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide it and form two discs. Wrap each disc in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pâte sucrée

350 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) sugar

2 large egg yolks

220 grams (1 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

60 ml ice water (1/4 cup)

Directions

Place the flour and sugar in the bowl of your food processor, and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 20 seconds.

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and add ice water. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and pulse until the pastry starts to come together. If the pastry does not hold together when you squeeze it between your fingers, just add a little more water, one tablespoon at a time. Try not to over process.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide it and form two discs. Wrap each disc in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Both pie crusts are enough for two 22 cm (9 inch) galettes or a larger galette which I have forgotten to measure before eating it. Sorry.

Now that you have chosen your favorite pie crust, it's time to prepare the filling.

Ingredients

4 large ripe peaches (ripe, but not mushy) cut into wedges. Don't bother peeling the peaches, just wash and pat dry them using a kitchen towel.

4 tablespoons granulated sugar (more or less, depending on the sweetness of your fruit)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

ground seeds of 1 cardamom pod (optional)

Combine peaches, sugar, cinnamon and ground cardamom in a bowl, spread the mixture evenly over the dough to within 5 cm (2 inches) of the edge. Arrange all the peach wedges if you have OCD. Fold the edge of the dough up over the peaches to create a border.

Bake at 180 ºC (350 ºF) until juices are bubbling and the crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes if you have two small galettes or 50 to 60 minutes for the larger version.