a simple recipe but with two of my favorites. rhubarb (a vegetable running around thinking it's a fruit) and sweet strawberries. which i've been hoarding in my freezer since we picked them last summer.and this concludes my week of baking.
it was an odd experience. being organized enough to bake each day was challenging enough. coming up with different recipes for people who's tastes i know little to nothing about, well this could have been down right stressful.
and there were moments. of melting tart dough. excessively dry bread dough. and the odd communication breakdown. but i absolutely loved this week! loved being able to create and share.
notes:
-maybe making recipes you aren't familiar with (regardless of your grand visions) isn't the best for situations such as this
-trust your instincts. if a recipe doesn't seem right. it probably isn't.
-plans are good. (i might try to have one next time)
-when in doubt. add cream. how could a bowl of whipped cream not make everything better?
dough
3 tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
1/3 cup ice water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into six to eight pieces
stir the sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water together in a small bowl and set aside. put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and stir with a fork to mix. drop the butter pieces into the bowl, tossing them once or twice just to coat them with flour. cut the butter into the flour, aiming for pieces of butter that range in size from bread crumbs to small peas. the smaller pieces will make the dough tender; the larger ones will make it flaky.
sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over the dry ingredients one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. (you may not need all of it). after you’ve added all of the sour cream, the dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if it’s not, add additional cold water, one teaspoon at a time. (temptation will be to add too much water; this is not a wet dough.)
turn the dough out of the bowl and divide it in half. press each piece of dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least two hours.
galettes
preheat oven to 400f.
line baking sheet(s) with parchment.
in a bowl, mix your fruit of choice (about two cups total) with 1/2 cup of sugar (and complimenting spice of your choice. i used nutmeg, i think).
remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a well floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick. if you're making mini galettes, cut the desired size and number of rounds from your dough. place each round on a parchment lined baking sheet.
place a mound of fruit in the center of each round (leaving a 1-2 inch border), drizzle with honey and a dab of butter. carefully fold up the edges of your round, pleating as you go around. brush with water (or egg yolk) and sprinkle dough with sugar.
bake for 35-40 minutes. let sit on baking sheet to cool for about 10 minutes.
serve warm (or cool) with whip cream or ice cream if you like!
notes:
-any fruit will do! apples, blueberries, cherries, figs...
-if you use frozen fruit, these little buggers might get pretty juicy. perhaps add a bit of cornstarch or flour to thicken up that fruit juice.
