making pie crust is something that is completely scary to me. there are quite a few steps in the pie crust making process that i feel like unless the stars are aligned the whole thing could go wrong. summer, in my childhood home would inevitably be pie season (even though i never liked or ate pie until i was in my 20s!). for many of those years we didn't have air conditioning, and i would watch my mother pray to the pie gods that the day wouldn't be too hot or humid. of course there were a couple occasions where it was in fact hot and humid and she made pie despite the gnarly weather. i would watch her get frustrated, and sometimes curse the sticky dough that wouldn't come together correctly. sometimes there would be a tear or two, and sometimes she would throw up her hands and say 'what will be, will be'. no matter what though her pies were amazing and beautiful, and always tasted delicious.
galettes are similar to pie, they're a free form pie if you will. you don't need a pie dish or tart pan, just a baking sheet. the galette i attempted here does not come anywhere close to how delicious my mother's pies are, but in the end it tasted quite good! i would say that the one day i attempted to make some semblance of a pie, was the one day that we had a short heat wave in nyc. the dough came together fine, and i even refrigerated it longer than usual because of the heat, but it didn't really help. i was trying to take pictures of the dough, for this here blog, but i could tell the dough was not feeling my apartment's 86° temperature. i quickly threw it in the oven to bake. the result was a little flat, the taste however, was spot on. perhaps the galette wasn't meant to be, maybe i chose the wrong day, maybe my pie-stars weren't aligned...but in the end i would like to believe that i was attempting to recreate and re-live a little memory i shared with my mother.
lemon-thyme trawberry galettes
| makes 4 small or 1 large galette
adapted from: Gluten Free Fix
dough:
4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg white
2 cups almond flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
filling:
2 pints strawberries, washed and sliced (hulled if necessary)
1-2 teaspoons lemon-thyme leaves (depending on how much you like)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon coconut flour
glaze for fruit:
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
| directions
in a large bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey, and egg white
in a smaller bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and poppy seeds. mix the dry ingredients into the wet - mix until combined
turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper; shape the dough into flat disk and cut into 4 equal pieces. (if you are making a large galette do not cut.) place the pieces onto a plate or platter, cover with parchment paper, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes
in a large bowl carefully mix the strawberries, coconut flour, lemon juice, and lemon-thyme. let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes
in a small bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey for the glaze
pre heat the oven to 325°
remove the dough from the refrigerator. roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to a 6-7 inch round. arrange the strawberries leaving a 1-inch border. using a pastry brush glaze the strawberries (be careful not to use too much, you don't want to saturate the dough) using the back of a spatula, fold up the sides of the dough, pinch together any dough that overlaps. if your dough cracks, like mine did, don't worry, just pinch it back together
bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown
cool slightly, and serve