Extra flaky maple-strawberry galette

I love making pies. Sometimes, however, I just don’t feel like dealing with all of the edge pinching, decoration cutting and blind baking. Sometimes I just want a delicious pie FAST with no hassle. That’s where galette comes in handy (or crostata, if you are in Italy).

For my strawberry galette I use the same exact dough I normally make an apple pie with. It’s flaky and buttery and easy to work with. My preferred method may surprise you at first as it doesn’t require the usual “work the butter into the flour until pea-sized bits form”.

After mixing and rolling pea size bits often dissolve into flour completely. The flaky crust becomes rather hit or miss. Rolling butter into flour with a rolling pin from the very beginning, however, makes for larger, multilayered flakes. It’s somewhat similar to french technique called “fraisage” where you smear butter into flour with a palm of your hand, minus introducing unnecessary heat to the dough.

Strawberry galette dough – dos and don’ts

1. Your butter must be really, REALLY cold. “But I took it out just 5 minutes ago” will not roll. It has to be pre-chilled, cut into pieces and chilled again. Preferably in the freezer. Just don’t keep it in the freezer longer than 10 minutes, otherwise it will become rock-hard.
2. Cold mixing and rolling surfaces, cold hands. And … cold flour! I keep mine in the freezer at all times. It stores better this way. Plus, many baked goods call for pre-chilled ingredients so that’s a win-win!
3. Bench scraper – best friend of any aspiring or professional baker. You won’t believe how much easier it can make your life! Firstly, it easily “cuts” butter with flour without introducing unnecessary heat, unlike our hands. Secondly, it scrapes every piece of dough clean from your kitchen surface. What’s there not to like?

If you don’t have the time to make the galette dough in old-fashioned way, I’ve got good news for you!

You can use my shortcut method;) Yes, maybe your dough will be just a tad less flaky… But if your goal is to save yourself some time – it might be well worth it.

For the shortcut method you’ll need a food processor or a blender (with a cup volume no less than 16 oz.):

1. Cut the butter into small cubes.
2. Put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
3. Transfer to a blender with half of the flour and salt. Pulse 10-15 times, until large crumbs form. If your blender doesn’t have a pulse function- blitz for approximately 10 seconds.
4. Add the remaining flour and pulse 10 more times. Or blitz for 10 seconds – until large crumbs form once again.
5. Add water. Pulse/blitz until a shaggy dough forms.
6. Roll the dough into a thick disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 2 days. After this step just follow the original strawberry galette recipe below.

Did you enjoy my strawberry galette post? Check out more exciting dessert recipes:

• Cream puffs with caramel diplomat + perfect choux dough guide
• My best foolproof cheesecake recipe
• Delicious summery key lime pie

Knowing that you use my recipes makes me so happy! If you end up making my strawberry galette or any other recipes, please tag me @olesia.guts so I can see your creations!

STRAWBERRY GALETTE

Prep Time: 1 Hour Cooking Time: 50 Minutes 50 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 9 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1 stick (110 grams) butter
• 1 cup (180 grams) flour plus some for rolling
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp ice-cold water
• 1 tbsp sugar, for dusting the edges
• 1 egg, for egg wash

Filling:

• 1 lbs strawberries
• 2-3 tbsp brown sugar (depends on sweetness of your strawberries)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Slice the stick of butter crosswize into ⅓” thick slices and put in the freezer for 5 min. In a small bowl, mix flour with salt. Place pieces of butter in a single layer on a kitchen table next to each other to form a square. Sprinkle flour-salt mixture on top. 
2. Roll butter and flour with a rolling pin until pieces of butter turn into thin long strips. Work fast to keep the butter cold throughout the whole process. Using a bench scraper, scrape the butter off the countertop cutting through butter strips to further incorporate them into flour. It’s ok to have pieces of butter of all different shapes and sizes. Sprinkle with water (start with 3 tbsp and add 4th if necessary) and mix until a shaggy dough forms, using a bench scraper. It will look like a mess at first but the dough will start coming together fast. 
3. Form the dough into a square and roll it into a rectangle, dusting the rolling pin and table with flour so it doesn't stick. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter (same way you’d fold puff pastry during the laminating process).  Turn the dough so the short end is facing you and roll it into a rectangle again (re-flour the table and the rolling pin if needed). Repeat the folding process. Then turn, roll and fold one last time. Cover with plastic wrap and put into the fridge for 30 min or up to 2 days.
4. Cut each strawberry in four if using large ones or in half for small ones. Mix with the rest of the ingredients and keep in the fridge until ready to use (don’t make it more than 30 min in advance, otherwise the strawberries will lose too much juice). 
5. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly flour your table and roll chilled dough into a 12” circle, 3 mm thick. You can leave the edges uneven for a more rustic look or cut out a perfect circle - whatever feels right. Transfer the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Spread the filling evenly over the dough to within 2.5” of the edge. Fold the edge up to create a border. 
6. Beat the egg until homogenous and brush it all over the border. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for 50-55 min, rotating halfway through baking. The galette is ready when the bottom and borders are deep golden-brown and crispy. I love serving mine warm with a side of whipped cream or ice cream, sprinkled with some mint and high-quality olive oil!