Homemade pastry takes about 10 minutes to make and tastes so much better than anything you can buy. With this recipe you can make one galette and have two additional dough rounds to stash in the freezer for the future. When you need a dessert (or special breakfast), transfer the dough from freezer to refrigerator, let it thaw overnight, and then you’re ready to roll.
PASTRY FOR 3 (8-INCH) GALETTES, 4 SERVINGS EACH
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces), cold from the refrigerator, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces, then quartered
½ teaspoon salt
Tall glass of ice water; you will probably use
6–8 tablespoons of ice-cold water
FILLING FOR 1 (8-INCH) GALETTE
2–3 cups pitted cherries, fresh or frozen (thaw and strain from the juice)
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
1 tablespoon butter
Spritz of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of cream or milk for brushing pastry
1 additional tablespoon turbinado sugar for pastry
Place flour, salt, and butter in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour until you have a fairly uniformly coarse mixture. From the glass of ice water, measure 6 tablespoons of water and sprinkle over the crumbly dough then stir with a fork. If the mixture seems dry, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Your mixture will look crumbly, but when you pinch a small amount it will clump together.
Dump crumbly dough onto counter, then push and pat together into a thick round. If the dough isn’t coming together, sprinkle additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time and keep pressing and forming. Cut the round into 3 pieces, then shape each into disks about 1-inch thick. Wrap each in parchment or plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes (or up to 2 days) before rolling. Alternatively, you can freeze the dough disks at this time.
Preheat oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface using a floured rolling pin (or wine bottle), roll out 1 pastry disk into a thin, roundish shape approximately 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the pastry to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spoon on the cherries (keep an eye out for stray pits), dot with butter, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar, and spritz with lemon. Fold edges of pastry up and over the cherries. Brush the exposed pastry with milk or cream, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Let cool on rack, then enjoy with a scoop of ice cream.
