I have turned into a strawberry fiend lately. I’ve always liked strawberries, but since they’ve started appearing en masse at the grocery in the past month or so, I feel like a “strawberry love” switch has been turned on in my brain. It doesn’t hurt that the first couple of pounds that I bought were some of the best strawberries I’ve had in my life. So, naturally, I had to make this strawberry galette pretty much as soon as I saw the picture in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.
This recipe also turned out to be the perfect place for me to try out my new spelt flour. High in fiber, b vitamins, and protein, spelt flour has been growing in popularity in the U.S. recently as more people look for nutritious and tasty alternatives to wheat flour. Since I’ve been trying to use more whole grains in my baking, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m very glad that I did, as the crust turned out very nicely. It wasn’t as flaky as pie crusts that I’ve made using all purpose flour, but I may have overmixed given that it was my first time using spelt. The taste was the thing that most surprised me. It was very nutty and yummy, though I think that the taste of the whole spelt flour (as opposed to white spelt flour, which has a milder flavor) may have overpowered the strawberries just a bit. All in all, a very tasty galette, and the orange whipped cream was quite good, too.
makes 6-8 servings
Ingredients
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
1 cup heavy whipping cream
zest of 1/2 orange
3 Tbsp. agave nectar (or 1/4 cup sugar)
FOR THE CRUST
2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour (or all purpose flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. agave nectar (or 1 tsp. sugar)
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 Tbsp. ice water
FOR THE GALETTE
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 Tbsp. agave nectar (or 1/4 cup sugar)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
Directions
1. Make the cream: combine heavy cream, orange zest, and agave nectar or sugar in a medium metal or glass bowl. Whip until semi-stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Make the crust: in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt (and sugar, if you’re not using agave nectar). Gradually add pieces of butter and mix on low using the paddle attachment (or mix using your hands, if not using a stand mixer) until the mixture looks sandy, with pea size and smaller pieces of butter still visible. If using agave nectar, mix with water and gradually add to the flour/butter mix until a dough forms. Shape into a flat disc (or two smaller discs, as I did), wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out one ten inch round or two five inch rounds and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, or sheets if you’re making two smaller galettes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Make the galette: Combine sliced strawberries, agave nectar or sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Immediately arrange on dough in as close to a single layer as you can get. Fold edges of dough over the strawberries. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Dot berries with 1 Tbsp. butter that’s been cut into small pieces. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or 30 to 35 minutes if making two smaller galettes. Serve at room temperature with chilled whipped cream.
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