Caramelized apple galette
When your days are full, opt for simplicity in this 5 ingredient galette. The apples, sugar, and a rustic flaky pastry baked to a golden brown remind us to slow down and enjoy the simple things. The longer bake time gives you time to relax as well. A tart, baking apples will provide a nice contrast to the caramelized bake. Pastry dough can be made ahead of time, and you can double the recipe to make two galettes. Serves 6-8.
Pastry Dough:
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
4 tablespoons ice water
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PASTRY:
To make your crust, combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add butter and mix by hand with a pastry cutter, or with a paddle in a standing mixer, until the mixture is the size of small peas.
Gradually add only enough water until the dough comes together. The dough should be slightly moist but will not be completely held together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it together gently to form a flat 1-inch disk. Wrap tightly with wax paper or plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Apple Filling:
5-6 medium sized, tart, baking apples
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel, halve, and core your apples. Slice them thinly (perpendicular to the core.)
Roll out your chilled dough into a 16-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick, it’s okay that the edges are rough, you will be folding it over the apples to finish the rustic edge of your galette. Place it in the middle of a parchment-lined sheet pan. (You can use a sheet pan vs. a cookie sheet in case the juices leak out from the crust.)
Start about two inches from the edge of the dough and lay down your apple slices in a circle, overlap the apple slices by about half. (Place the half round edge toward the outside edge of your crust) After the first circle is completed, work your way toward the center, repeating the tight overlap of apple slices until it is full and forms a petal pattern. It’s okay that it is higher in the middle, the apples will soften as it bakes and the height will reduce.
Sprinkle the apples with 1/3 cup of sugar. Begin to form your rustic tart by folding one edge of the pastry tight over the apples, work your way around the pastry, keep pleating one section over the other until finished. Brush the edge of one pleat with cold water, before folding the next one over it to seal the edges and help prevent the juices from leaking out. When finished folding brush with dough with milk just to moisten and dot the apples with the butter. You can sprinkle the dough with raw sugar if you would like.
Place the galette on the top rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup sugar on the apples and continue to bake for another 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden, the apples are tender, and the sugar has caramelized. If the crust browns too quickly, reduce your oven temp to 375 for the remaining bake time.
Remove the galette from the oven and let it cool. Loosen the crust from caramelized sugar along the edges as it cools. Slice and serve warm.