Fruit Galette made with free formed pastry is fun and simple to make. Finished, they have an engaging rustic appeal. Almost any fruit, berries, apples, peaches, plums, figs, etc. can be used. They are usually sweetened with sugar, honey, fruit syrups; thickened with flours, corn starch, tapioca, etc. Like fruit pies, everyone has their favorite spices and seasonings. Fillings are often dotted with butter and their crust brushed with wash before cooking.
Usually cooked on a greased cookie sheet or a sheet topped with parchment, I prefer replacing parchment with nonstick aluminum foil. It offers a couple additional advantages.
As pastry dough is hand formed in bowl shape and filled, pastry is pulled partly over the filling and pleated while pinching to secure fruit inside (bottom right photo). Aluminum foil is agile and strong. It is perfect to gently crumple and form around the pastry giving the Galette’s signature pastry bowl additional structure.
Not only better support for the Galette, but helps capture any hot spills that would burn on an unprotected cookie sheet. The picture shows a Galette that did spill and you can see the wonderful results.
Another surprise, this Galette was made with frozen wild blueberries. When my sons were young, we would pick wild blueberries in the woods near our home in New Hampshire. Wild berries are much smaller then cultivated and blueberry flavors more concentrated. I always have some frozen on hand for deserts and smoothies.
When cooking, please make sure filling bubbles in the center before your Galette is removed from the oven. That activates thickeners.