Originally published on August 13, 2014
Martha Stewart has taught me a lot this week. First she taught me that you can boil roasted potatoes, and just yesterday she taught me the differences between certain pie crusts. I had always been making the same one – cold butter or shortening cut into flour, and then just a tiny bit of ice cold water added in to make it all come together. This way is certainly not wrong, but it does have an actual name – and it’s French! Making pie crust this way gives you what’s called a pate brisee, a very versatile crust that can be used for either sweet or savoury dishes. If you add a pinch of sugar into it, you’ve made pate sucree, a pie crust that is essentially exactly the same as pate brisee, but has sugar added into it and therefore, is used mostly for desserts. And then there’s a whole other type of pastry dough you can make that’s called pate sablee, a sandier type of dough that often has the addition of eggs and results in a tender dough that will hold its shape very well and is often used in the making of Empire biscuits.
This recipe of Martha’s calls for pate sucree, so that’s what I made. And what the heck is a Peach Galette? It’s essentially a very rustic peach pie, baked right on a baking sheet, and with no top crust. Instead, the bottom crust is made a bit larger so that it can fold over most of the top with just a bit of the filling showing dead centre. There, now you’ve been culinary schooled, just like I was yesterday.
Ingredients
For the patee brisee:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
For the filling:
4 3/4 cups fresh peaches, sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 large egg, lightly beaten
About 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for work surface
Directions:
1.) Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.
2.) Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten and form two discs. Wrap and refrigerate at least one hour before using.
3.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
4.) Stir together the sliced peaches, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cornstarch.
5.) Roll out pate brisee into a 13″ round,about 1/8″ thick, on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a baking sheet. Arrange fruit in centre, leaving a 2″ border. Fold over border to enclose fruit, leaving the centre open. Brush crust with egg, and sprinkle with a bit more of the sugar.
6.) Bake until golden brown and bubbling in the centre, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool on a baking sheet and then slide parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7.) Serve and enjoy!