Tartine’s Galettes

Noah officially started last week, on overnight shift. While he’s gone at night, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking. Mostly for lunch the next day and snacks for him to bring to keep awake overnight. It’s too hard to cook during the day since our bedroom is so close to the kitchen, it’d be impossible not to wake the working doctor.

This recipe was my one “fun” project for me. It did take a long time, between real cooking, to complete. I had peaches and wanted to make little cakes for Noah and his team to share, but then I came across this recipe while thumbing through some books, and thought I’d challenge myself. Being more consistent and confident with doughs and pastries is my next real big goal in baking. Even though I’m not working right now, it’s still nice to do some enrichment for my own sake.

Tartine Galettes

1. Butter scattered, coated in flour

the flour helps prevent the rolling pin from sticking

2. scrape up the sides to resize the pile

repeat 3-4x until the butter is in thin flakes

3. Long thin ribbons of butter is ok

4. Make a well and pour in all the water

5. Chop chop fold fold until all the water is incorporated

the dough will feel very shaggy and dry - have faith!

6. Roll the mushed pile into a rectangle

7. Use a scraper to fold it back the first time or two

8. After 2-3 repetitions, a dough forms

stop when the dough comes together (after 3-4 roll/folds)

7. Tuck the stragglers into the middle

They will incorporate during the final roll before assembly.

8. Voila - dough

The dough:

The dough recipe can be used to make a basic pie dough using the ol’ dependable food processor method. To make this galette dough it’s all about the technique.

1. Freeze for 10 minutes:

   • 4oz water + 3/4 tsp salt

   • 1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2. On work surface:

   • 170g AP flour

   • 170g pastry flavor

   • can just use all AP flour

3. Spread the flour into a rectangle about 1/3inch deep.

4. Scatter butter cubes over the flour and toss them in the flour.

5. With a rolling pin, roll the butter into long, thin pieces over the flour pile.

6. Use a bench scraper, scoop up the sides of the rectangle (reform original shape and size of flour pile), and continue rolling. Repeat this 3-4 times. You should get visible flat flakes of butter, coated with flour.

7. Make a well in the center, and pour all of the salt water into the well. Scoop the sides of the dough toward the center with the bench blade, cutting the water into the dough.

8. Once the dough is sort of a shaggy mess (it will feel very poorly hydrated), shape the dough into a rectangle, about 5x7 inches.

9. Roll it so it’s half as thin as the shaggy dough. Fold the sides in, and repeat this 3-4 times until a smooth dough forms.

   • Dust the top with flour so the butter doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.

10. Wrap and chill for at least one hour. Try to keep it a neat rectangle.

Assembly:

Wedges too thick for me, too much rim

Post bake on convection

Flaky! Good for savory recipes too

Used the dough for a mini cherry tart too

1. Divide the dough into 6 equal (square) pieces.

2. To roll circles from rectangles:

   1. Start with the dough positioned as a diamond in front of you.

   2. Roll from the center toward the end, but stop before you reach the thick points nearest and farthest from you.

   3. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so the flattened corners are top and bottom.

   4. Roll from the center again, and once again stop before the top and the bottom.

   5. At this point, the dough should be squareish, with parts at the edges that curl up like little humps.

   6. Roll out the thicker areas, and a circle should form.

   7. Keep rolling until the dough is a little thinner than 1/8-inch thick. (if making bigger galettes with this dough, roll it a little thicker).

   8. Chill the rolled doughs until firm.

3. While dough is chilling, prepare 6 cups worth of prepped fruits:

   • Hull cherries, pit and chop peaches until 8ths, apricots and plums to quarters, etc.

   • Taste the fruit for sweetness to determine how much sugar is needed to sweeten. (At tartine, they always season each galette individually, apparently). Each small tart usually needs 1-2 tsp each.

4. Place fruit on dough, leaving about a 1-inch edge.

5. Sprinkle with sugar, and maybe a squeeze of lemon if necessary. Fold up the edges, make sure not to leave any gaps for fruit juices to leak.

6. Chill the tarts until firm, about 10 minutes.

7. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar on top.

   • Any egg wash will do, but tartine’s is 1 yolk + 1 T cream.

8. Bake at 375F for 40ish minutes, until the inside is bubbling and the crust is dark brown and clearly puffed. I baked at 350F convection. If it gets too dark too soon, drop the temp by 25F, and loosely cover the top with foil.

9. Cool on a wire rack and serve at room temp.

For once I’m super happy with the results after following the instructions super closely, and I’m proud of myself! The dough is flaky and tender and has a good amount of salt. The second time, I cut the fruit a little thinner and put more in each galette than the pictures I have and I think it worked better.

Notes:

• The repeated chilling steps are super important. I happened to make this between real cooking, so it was convenient. But always chill the dough (and the butter and water too) thoroughly at all the steps, don’t skip or rush.

• Work quickly to prevent butter from melting. Sometimes I transfer them one at a time to the fridge, and leave the portions I’m not working with in the fridge. If things are starting to warm up after being left out, stop working, and chill everything again before continuing.

• There’s no starch or binder whatsoever. It’s just cooked fruit and pastry. Super simple and really delicious with good fruit. The pastry surprisingly doesn’t go soggy, and stays crispy for a whole day.