Jam jump-starts flavor in galette
WE wanted a foolproof recipe for a simple free-form galette with a crisp, buttery, flaky crust and a juicy (not soupy) filling full of concentrated strawberry flavor. We made a few key decisions to guard against a soggy, leaky galette. First, to ensure a uniformly sturdy, flaky crust (rather than a short, crumbly one that might leak), we turned to a method called fraisage: the process of working the crumbles of flour, butter, and water together into a dough by smearing them against the counter with the heel of your hand, thereby spreading the butter pieces into thin sheets between layers of flour and water. Second, we tossed the berries with ¼ cup of sugar—just enough to accent their natural sweetness and mellow some of their tartness —and drained off the juice. Less juice in the galette meant less chance of leaking. Finally, we stirred the berries together with a bit of strawberry jam and 1½ tablespoons of cornstarch. The jam not only added extra strawberry flavor but, along with the cornstarch, also helped thicken the juice, creating a leakproof free-form tart with a juicy, jammy strawberry filling.
Strawberry Galette
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes, plus 40 minutes cooling
Quarter any strawberries larger than a Ping-pong ball. Do not combine the macerated strawberries with the jam mixture until you’re ready to form and bake the galette; they may release more juice and make it hard to shape the dough around the fruit. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Dough
1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon table salt 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
6 tablespoons ice water
Filling
1½ pounds strawberries, hulled, halved if small or quartered if large (5 cups)
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided ⅓ cup strawberry jam 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon table salt
1. For the dough: Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand and butter pieces are size of small peas, about 10 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.
2. Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter. Using bench scraper, gather dough into rough rectangular mound about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Starting at farthest end, use heel of your hand to smear small amount of dough against counter, pushing firmly down and away from you, to create separate pile of dough (flattened pieces of dough should look shaggy). Continue process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into rough 12 by 4-inch mound and repeat smearing process.
3. Form dough into 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
4. For the filling: One hour before rolling out dough, toss strawberries with ¼ cup sugar in bowl. Set aside for 1 hour. Reserve 1 tablespoon strawberry juice. Drain strawberries in colander in sink. Leave strawberries in colander while rolling out dough.
5. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter, then transfer to prepared sheet. Cover dough loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
6. Whisk jam, cornstarch, and salt in large bowl until combined. Add strawberries and toss gently to coat. Mound fruit in center of dough, leaving 2-inch border. Carefully grasp 1 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, but do not press dough into fruit.
7. Brush top of dough with reserved strawberry juice and sprinkle dough and filling with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
8. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Let galette cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Using parchment, carefully slide galette onto wire rack. Remove parchment and let cool on rack until just warm, about 30 minutes. Serves 6.