Stone Fruit & Semolina Galette
This recipe takes inspiration from traditional French frangipane tarts. They usually include only a few components - a tart shell shell filled with almond frangipane covered in either sliced almonds or studded with seasonal fruit. While I made a number of changes to the classic iteration of this tart, the most obvious is that I decided to forego the fluted tart pan in favor of a more reform galette. I didn’t want ownership of a very specific piece of baking equipment to get in the way giving this recipe a go, and I figured there was no reason this couldn’t work in galette form.
I love frangipane tarts because they’re almost a cross between a traditional fruit galette and a cake. Frangipane is a nut based batter that is traditionally made with almond flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. If you’ve ever had an almond croissant, you’ve had frangipane (it’s that gooey stuff baked in the middle). But when frangipane is used as a filling for a tart, it bakes less gooey and more like a think layer of light, buttery, almond cake.
The almond flour is regularly swapped out for other nut flours, especially hazelnut, but I decided to opt for semolina. Semolina is a coarsely ground flour from durum wheat. While semolina is derived from wheat, it looks and feels much more like cornmeal or polenta than the wheat flours we are used to. It is used in a variety of both sweet and savory dishes in many regions and cultures around the world, but you may know it as the main ingredient in many of the types of pasta we have all come to love. I chose it here for its coarse texture and sweet and nutty flavor. Additionally, I swapped out a small portion of the flour in the dough and added in some semolina.
Makes 1 x 10” galette
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Ingredients
Dough
1 1/4 cups (170g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (90g) semolina
1 tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, cold
1/4 - 1/3 cups (65-85g) water, ice cold
Frangipane
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (53g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg, large
1/2 cup (90g) semolina
1 teaspoon bourbon/brandy/rum/Grand Marnier (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Miscellaneous
3-6 stone fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, apricots, cherries
Honey
Egg wash or cream (optional)
Method
To make the dough, cube 12 tablespoons (170g) butter into ½ inch pieces and fill a liquid measuring cup with cold water and ice. Place both the butter and ice water in the fridge while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
In a large bowl, measure the 1 1/4 cup (170g) flour, 1/2 cup (90g) semolina, 1 tablespoon (15g) sugar (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
Add the chilled, cubed butter into the flour mixture and give everything a good toss to make sure no butter is stuck and all cubes are coated in flour. Moving somewhat quickly, smoosh and flatten the cubes of butter between your thumb and your fingers. The goal here is the break down the butter into the desired size without letting the air temperature or our body temperature melt the butter. Try to only use the tips of your fingers, rather than your whole palm, to break down the butter. Once each cube has been flattened and broken up, go back through and break apart the bigger pieces of butter until most are about the size of a cranberry. You’ll have some pieces a bit smaller and some a bit bigger, but that’s okay. If the butter is starting to feel a bit warm or too soft, place the bowl in the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes before moving on to the next step.
Add ¼ cup of water from the ice water and mix with your hands (or a spatula if you prefer) until a shaggy dough forms (see note). If there are still dry patches, add a some of the reserved water 1 tablespoon at a time until it just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead a couple of times to make sure there are no dry spots. With your hands, gently flatten the dough into a very rough, small rectangle. Fold the top half over the bottom half and press together. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat (see note). Gently form the dough into a circle and tightly wrap in plastic or parchment paper. Chill for minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To use, move the dough to the fridge the day before you plan to use it so it can properly temper.
To make the frangipane, cream 4 tablespoons (56g) butter, 1/4 cup (50g) sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl with a spatula. This small amount of butter and sugar is very difficult to mix in a stand mixer and is easy enough to do by hand. Mix until all combined, the color has lightened slightly, and looks a little fluffy.
Add one egg and mix until combined. Add 1/2 cup (90g) semolina and mix until combined.
Finally, add the 1 teaspoon liquor (if using) and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Set aside at room temp until ready to use. Frangipane can be made 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Allow it to temper to room temp before using.
To assemble your galette, first preheat oven to 375F. Halve and slice your fruit into ½ inch wedges. Set you slices aside on a sheet tray or plate where they are easy to grab once ready.
Next, roll out the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Re-flour your surface and your dough as needed to help with sticking. Use enough to make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the counter or the rolling pin. As soon as you notice any sticking, sprinkle a little more flour! To ensure a (somewhat) symmetrical circle of even thickens, turn your dough a few inches clockwise after every couple of rolls. Rather than leaving your dough in one place and manipulating your rolling pin to roll out the dough, move the dough so you can keep your rolling consistent. This constant moving of the dough also helps you manage any sticking issues as they arise.
Once you have a 13-inch circle, trim about a ½ inch of the rough edges with a paring knife or pizza cutter. Fold the 12-inch circle in half and then quarters to transfer it to a large sheet tray lined with parchment. Unfold the dough round in the middle of the tray. If the dough is getting a bit warm, move it to the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes. To create the border, roll the edges in and over themselves to a create a round, raised ring. Next, using your two pointer fingers held parallel to each other with about an inch of space in between, place them diagonally over the raised border (rather than perpendicular) and press down. Repeat this process around the remainder of the galette.
Spread the frangipane into an even layer on the dough, making sure to go just to the border. Arrange your sliced fruit on top of the frangipane in nice fanned out circles. No need to worry about fruit overlapping, as they will shrink and nestle into the frangipane as they bake.
Brush the border with a little bit of egg wash (1 egg very well beaten) or cream if you like, but not necessary, and bake for 45 minutes until the frangipane is puffed and set and the crust is a dark golden brown.
Let cool completely on the sheet tray. As a final touch, warm up a few tablespoons of honey and brush it onto the fruit as a glaze.
Galette can be stored covered at room temperature for 2 days.
Notes
Why does everyone always say “shaggy dough”? Pie dough (and biscuits) truly are at their pinnacle when they come from a dough that has had *just* enough liquid added. But when the right amount of liquid is added, the dough kinda looks shaggy. There are no hidden pockets of flour, but the whole thing isn’t sticky and homogenous. When you apply pressure, it will come together, but the dough will feel a bit dry to the touch. As you roll out, cut, stack, and roll out again, the water will more thoroughly hydrate the dough. This is why I like to reserve just a bit of the water. Your flour, the temperature, and humidity of your environment can all play a roll in how much liquid you need to use. Also give your dough a few good kneads and a bit of time to fully absorb the liquid. When I first learned how to make pie dough (and biscuit dough), I would be so concerned with not overmixing the dough that I would try to mix it too quickly and end up adding too much liquid. I would then over-correct the next time and be so worried about repeating my previous mistakes that I would add too little liquid. I then learned to be a bit more patient. Mix the dough enough and give it a little time before deciding to add more liquid.
I like to list sugar as optional in any pie or galette dough because I often use the same recipe for both sweet and savory applications, and I want you to be able to think of the components of these recipes outside of the confines of this recipe. If I’m making a sweet galette, I like to add the little touch of sweetness to the dough to go with the sweetness of the other ingredients. But if I want to use this dough for a savory tomato galette, I’ll omit the sugar so it is more of a blank canvas for whatever I choose. That being said, it is totally fine to always omit the sugar here if you’re just not feeling it!
Feel free to use a variety of stone fruit or a mixture of stone fruit and berries or just berries or even halved or quartered figs! Play around and use what tastes good to you.