Pear galette

• 30 Nov, 2009
• 7 likes

Here's my take on Hille's take on a tart he had at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. (I found this recipe online and love it!)
Prep: 25 minutes
Total: 3 Hours (includes chilling and baking time)
Servings: Makes 8 to 10 servings.

(I placed a pizza stone on the top rack and preheated the oven to 450 degrees.) Makes for a nice crispy bottom :) Not neccessary though.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water

1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples( or whatever apples you like. I used Bartlette pears for this one), peeled, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices ( I used a mandolin, for uniform slices)
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel (I didn't use this)
1/4 cup apricot preserves
Whole milk
Preparation
Blend flour and salt in processor ( I used stand up mixer w dough hook. Could also be done the old fashined way... by hand, with a pastry cutter or a fork). Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and blend just until dough begins to clump together, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep dough chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out dough between sheets of parchment (plastic wrap works okay too) paper to 1/8-inch-thick round, 14 inches in diameter. Remove top sheet of parchment. Using bottom sheet as aid, transfer dough on parchment to large unrimmed (or turn your rimmed one upsidedown:) baking sheet. Chill 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine apple slices, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon peel in medium bowl; toss to blend. Spread preserves over crust (I used a pastry brush), leaving 1 1/2-inch plain border. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles atop preserves, overlapping slightly. Using parchment as aid, fold plain crust border up over apples, pinching any cracks in crust. Brush crust with milk. Sprinkle crust edges and apples with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar ( I used a mesh sieve).

If using pizza stone place galette on parchment papper directly on pizza stone. Bake galette 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until crust is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Slide long thin knife between parchment and galette. Mine usually slides right off w/ out this step. Let stand at least 10 minutes ( I place mine on a wire rack to cool). Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. Yummmm, hope you GoYs enjoy :)