Spiced Apple Galette Recipe
By Francesca Black
Embrace autumn with this Spiced Apple Galette Recipe, a French bakery classic full of fresh apples and fall flavors, and pairing tips.
Ingredients
Pie Dough (makes 2 medium galettes)
- 2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsps sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 16 tbsps cold, unsalted butter, (2 sticks)
- 1/4 cup chilled vodka
- 1/4 cup chilled water
Filling
- 6 Albemarle Pippin apples (or other variety),, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
- 2 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsps fresh lemon zest
- 2 tbsps sugar (plus 2–3 tbsps raw or turbinado sugar for dusting)
- 2 tbsps brown sugar
- 1 tbsp local honey
- 2 tsps cinnamon (plus more for dusting if desired)
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- Whole milk (or egg wash)
Method
- To make the dough, use a food processor or large mixing bowl, and combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse or incorporate butter into the flour mixture until pea-sized bits of butter remain. Slowly add the chilled liquid until you can gather the mixture together. Add more water or vodka, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds. Gently roll the dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- To make the filling, mix all the filling ingredients together. Be sure to taste as you go, and add more sugar or lemon juice as desired. You can cut the peeled apple slices early, but be sure to soak them in water with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to keep from browning.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out the dough. Create a well-floured area and place the disk in the middle. Cut in half and roll each out, forming 2 rectangles or circles about ⅛“ thick. Carefully transfer these to parchment-lined baking sheets. Use your rolling pin to make the transfer easier by rolling the dough up onto the pin and then unrolling slowly onto the parchment. Make both galettes or wrap the second half in plastic wrap in a freezer bag for later use.
- Layer your filling, either in a decorative circular pattern or in vertical or horizontal lines.
- Gently fold up the edges of your galette. Brush milk on the edges and sprinkle with raw sugar and more cinnamon, if desired. Dot with 6–8 small cubes of butter.
- Bake on the middle or lower rack for 45–55 minutes, checking often to ensure for doneness. If browning too slowly at first, turn up the temperature to 400 degrees for the first 15–20 minutes. If browning too quickly, turn down the temperature to 350 degrees. Turn once during the bake.
Notes
Don’t be afraid to use your favorite pie dough recipe here. Feel free to substitute 4 tablespoons of the butter with vegetable shortening or lard. The vodka is important here, but if you don’t have it on hand, don’t sweat it – just substitute with more chilled water.
Brushing milk on the completed pastry before baking will give it a nice sheen, but you can also brush on an egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tablespoon water) if you prefer.