Strawberry Galette

Kiss your pie dish goodbye and satisfy your dessert craving with this simple Strawberry Galette. Featuring a rustic butter crust loaded with fresh berries, this pie alternative is imperfectly perfect.

If dumb decisions were an Olympic sport I’d win a gold medal. Then I’d try eating it because anything round and golden reminds me of pie. Basically, pie is all about risk reward. I’d risk breaking a tooth on a metal medal if there was a remote possibility it tasted like pie. You know what they say: all that glitters isn’t gold. Sometimes it’s a sparkly, sugar-coated pie crust.

Ultimately, it isn’t the filling that makes pie a favorite dessert, it’s the crust. Everybody knows buttery and flaky are a must, but what really gives crust its wow factor are the combination of egg wash and course sugar. Mopped on with a pastry brush, an egg wash is the secret to baking a golden brown crust and a sprinkling of course sugar adds a sweet, shimmery crunch.

It all sounds simple enough, but the egg wash is where my stupidity takes center stage. You see, since my pastry brush is missing in action the egg wash for my strawberry pie got painted on the dough with an actual paint brush. Never used before but old enough for Medicare, the bristles kept leaving flecks of red on the dough. Like a dope, I thought it was strawberry seeds–until I realized the brush’s red handle was flaking off onto my crust.

As much as I adore pie crust, I draw the line at eating it speckled with lead paint. I’m all for making myself sick from overeating, but not making myself sick eating a poisoned paint pie. A girl’s gotta line somewhere. So, low on flour and too lazy to clean the pie plate, I improvised and made a galette. And I did it without a pastry brush, a paint brush or a hair brush. I simply smeared the egg on the dough with my fingertips and called it a day.

And, after all, there’s no better day than one that ends with an open-face strawberry pie.

Before sharing the Strawberry Galette recipe, here are a few tips and tricks to help you out:

Cornstarch thickens the berry juices so the galette does not get soggy. If you do not have cornstarch then tapioca flour will work as a substitute.

Sprinkle galette with turbinado sugar just prior to baking. Turbinado sugar is larger in size than granulated sugar, which means it’s more resistant to heat and gives the galette texture.

If you do not have a food processor, use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles damp sand. Then add ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough forms.

After the galette is assembled brush the dough with an egg wash. The egg/heavy cream mixture helps seal the edges, adds shine and enhances color during baking.

Dough can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cover with plastic wrap then store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Galettes taste best the day they are baked. If you have leftovers then store them loosely covered at room temperature up to 2 days.

I hope you enjoy this rustic Strawberry Galette. Please leave a rating and review when you try the recipe for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you like strawberry recipes then you’ll love these Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls. Made with yeast dough then filled with a medley of jam and fresh berries, mornings are sweeter eating this treat.