We are roughly halfway through August but it feels like it’s been August for much longer than that. School has officially started for me, and the beginning of the year is always one of the worst parts. You have to readjust to changing schedules and get used to new subjects. I think by the end of September I’ll probably be fully adjusted, but the first few weeks are kind of clunky.
On the bright side, I am finally back on schedule in terms of recipe testing! I have almost all of September lined up and ready to go, except for one recipe which I can’t test yet because it uses seasonal ingredients that aren’t around yet.
With that being said, I am fully in fall mode because of all of the autumnal recipes I’ve been testing. It’s still very hot and humid outside, but pretty soon it should start to cool down. I have some fun recipes planned to really enjoy the cool weather, so stay tuned!
But let’s talk about the matter at hand, this galette. Galettes aren’t something I make a lot of, I only have one other one from two years ago. So it’s a funny coincidence that this month I have two galette recipes on accident. I plan out a years worth of recipes in the winter, and split them up so that there’s 3-5 recipes published in every month. I guess I didn’t notice that there were two galettes scheduled in the same month, which isn’t ideal. However, I decided not to change it because these two galettes are very different. This one is sweet, and the other one is a little more savory.
What is a Galette?
A galette is basically a free-form pie. It uses the same crust as a classic pie, and often the same fillings, but it’s shaped by folding the crust around the filling and baking the whole thing on a baking sheet. I love Galettes because they are actually so easy to make, so if you don’t want to go through all the effort of making a pie then this is the recipe for you.
Describe This Galette to Me
Taste: Fresh blackberries are the primary taste in this recipe, and the brown sugar ties together the sweet fruit flavor and the warmer notes from the crust. Fresh sage, accompanied with a dash of cinnamon and ginger, adds a little depth to the whole dessert, and an almost earthy note.
Texture: The crust on the sides is perfectly flakey and buttery, while the crust on the bottom is softer. The filling is very juicy because of the blackberries, so I recommend eating this warm with a fork and knife and a scoop of ice cream.
Ease: This recipe is very simple and easy to throw together. The crust is very straightforward and comes together in one bowl, with no mixer, and just a handful of ingredients. Once that chills for a while, all you have to do is roll it out, top it with a spiced sage brown sugar mixture and blackberries, and fold over the edges. Bake it and it’s ready! Very simple, but so delicious.
The Crust
This crust is a very classic all butter pie crust. It comes together with just five ingredients, with no mixer, in one bowl. It’s very easy to work with and roll out, and always yields a delicate and flakey crust. As I said previously, the bottom of this galette tends to get a little soggy because of the juice the blackberries unavoidably produce. However, it isn’t unpleasant because the crust still maintains a delicious flavor that works perfectly with the blackberries.
The Filling
This is a very simple filling for a galette. The brown sugar mixture is just brown sugar, chopped sage, cinnamon, and ginger, which we sprinkle on top of the rolled out pastry dough. Then on top of that go the blackberries. To finish it all out we fold the pastry over the edges of the blackberries to create a crust, brush it with an egg wash, and bake! The brown sugar melts down and mixes with the juice the blackberries release and creates a blackberry syrup of sorts.
Brown Sugar Blackberry Sage Galette
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until pea sized crumbs form and flour is slightly moistened. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cold water until a shaggy dough forms. Do this one Tablespoon at a time, as the amount of water will vary depending on weather, climate, and time of year. The dough shouldn't be crumbly or sticky, but soft and shaggy with patches of butter. I usually do about 6-7 Tablespoons.
- Dump the shaggy dough onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. You don't want to knead it, just shape it into a ball. Then, flatten it slightly with your hands into a thick disk and wrap tightly with cling wrap. Chill the covered dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl toss together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and sage. Set aside.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and peel off the cling wrap. Roll the dough out into a 12×14 inch oval on a lightly floured surface. Transfer this rolled out dough onto the previously prepared baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture in an even layer on top of the dough, leaving an inch wide border along the edges. Arrange the blackberries in an even layer on top of the brown sugar. Fold the border over to create a crust. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the galette for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
- Let the galette cool for 10 minutes before serving warm. It will be a little soggy, but is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream.