Rustic Summer Fruit Galette

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the butter into the flour

   Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a wide bowl. Drop in the cold butter cubes and toss them through the flour, then flatten each one between your thumb and fingers into a rough petal. Keep going until the bowl is full of flat, irregular butter shards no smaller than a fingernail. Those visible sheets of butter are what turn into steam pockets and flaky layers, so resist the urge to work them into crumbs.

2. 2

   Bring the dough together

   Stir the vinegar into the ice water, then drizzle it over the flour a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition. Stop as soon as the mixture holds together when you squeeze a handful; it should look shaggy and underhydrated, not smooth. If it still crumbles apart, add cold water half a tablespoon at a time. Tip it onto the counter, press it into a 5-inch disc, wrap tightly, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

3. 3

   Macerate and drain the fruit

   Toss the sliced stone fruit and berries with the granulated sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, and salt. Let it sit for 20 minutes, then pour the fruit into a sieve set over a bowl and let the juices drain for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the drained fruit and fold gently. Draining is the single biggest defense against a soaked bottom crust, and you can simmer the collected juice down to a syrup for serving.

4. 4

   Roll out the crust

   Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the lower third. Roll the chilled disc between two sheets of parchment into a 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick, turning it a quarter turn every few passes so it stays even. Cracks around the rim are fine; pinch them closed. Peel off the top sheet and slide the parchment with the dough onto a rimmed baking sheet.

5. 5

   Build the galette

   Scatter the almond flour over the center of the round, leaving a clean 2-inch border all the way around. Mound the fruit over the almond flour, keeping it fairly compact so the galette holds its shape. Fold the border up and over the fruit in overlapping pleats, pressing each fold firmly against the next so no seams can leak. The center stays open.

6. 6

   Chill, wash, and bake

   Slide the whole sheet pan into the freezer for 15 minutes; this firms the butter back up and keeps the pleats from slumping. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and shower it with turbinado sugar. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown all the way to the base and the fruit juices bubble slowly and thickly at the edges. Fast, watery bubbling means the starch hasn't set yet, so give it another 5 to 10 minutes.

7. 7

   Glaze and cool

   If you want a bakery shine, warm the apricot jam with a teaspoon of water and brush it over the hot fruit. Let the galette cool on the pan for at least 30 minutes before sliding it, parchment and all, onto a board. Cutting it hot means the filling runs; at warm room temperature it slices cleanly.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Keep everything cold. If the butter softens while you roll, stop and refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes — warm butter melts into the flour and gives you a crisp, cookie-like crust instead of a flaky one.

• 2.

  Match the thickener to the fruit. Berries and peaches are wet and want the full 2 tablespoons of cornstarch; apples and pears are drier and do better with about 1 tablespoon.

• 3.

  The almond flour layer is swappable. Fine dry breadcrumbs, crushed amaretti, semolina, or a tablespoon of flour mixed with a tablespoon of sugar all soak up juice just as well.

• 4.

  Bake on the lower rack. The heat reflecting off the oven floor is what browns the underside of the pastry, and a dark metal sheet pan helps even more than a light one.

• 5.

  A split seam is not a disaster. Leaked juice caramelizes on the parchment and lifts away once cool, and the galette still tastes right — the free-form look is the whole point.

• 6.

  Dough freezes beautifully. Wrap the disc well and freeze up to 3 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling.

Equipment

• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Large mixing bowl
• Fine-mesh sieve
• Pastry brush
• Bench scraper

Storage