The Best Peach Galette
The peach galette, or galette aux pêches, is as beautiful as it is tasty. This rustic fruit dessert is simple and elegant. It is also very versatile. You can serve it for an afternoon goûter, paired with a cup of coffee or tea, as well as for an after dinner dessert. It can be easily dressed up with a little chantilly cream (crème chantilly ) and garnish.
One of the things that I like most about this recipe, is that its focus is on the fruit. Using fresh, seasonal fruit, at the peak of its ripeness, offers the best flavor.
It is summertime, so, peaches are in! I picked a box of the peaches up at a local farmer’s market. They are beautiful, juicy, and flavorful, and the perfect pairing to go with this simple, buttery, galette dough.
The truth is, you can use ANY seasonal fruit with this galette dough (apples, pears, apricots, cherries, and the list goes on).
I think the only fruit that wouldn’t work are citrus fruit, and melons.
There are a few ingredients here that might be difficult to find, if you aren’t in Europe, or don’t have access to a grocery store with imported products. Don’t worry! I offer substitutions for those in the recipe card.
This recipe will make 2, 9 inch galettes, and feeds about 12 people.
Galette aux pêches
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- 2 pieces of parchment paper
Ingredients
Galette dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1/4 cup crème fraîche if you can't find crème fraîche at your local grocery store, sour cream can act as a substitute
Peach filling
- 4 large ripe peaches sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch wedges
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour plus a little more for dusting
- 1/2 cup sucre vanillé (vanilla sugar) – divided if you don't have any sucre vanillé, you can substitute 1/2 cup of granulated sugar PLUS either the seeds from one vanilla bean, OR 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice juice from about one large lemon
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tbsp milk
Instructions
Galette dough:
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt
- Add the chilled butter
- Gently toss the butter in the flour mixture to coat
- Using your fingers, press the flour mixture and butter together, repeatedly, until it resembles a grainy mixture.
- In a separate, small bowl, using a spoon or whisk, mix together the ice cold water and crème fraîche.
- Slowly add the crème fraîche mixture to the flour mixture, and stir, using a fork. Once incorporated, use your fingertips to continue working the dough, just until it comes together, and there are no more dry spots. Do not overwork your dough! It is ready when you can squish it together and it stays together. It should not be sticky. If it is still sticking to your hands, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. Then, stop kneading!
- Divide the dough in half, and shape into two separate discs. Wrap the dough discs in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour. You can leave the wrapped dough in the refrigerator, for up to 2 days.
Peach filling
- Place your sliced peaches into a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine 3 tbsp of sucre vanillé, flour, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the peach slices, and gently toss until fully coated.
Assembling your galette:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove a dough disc from the refrigerator. You will work with one at a time, so it is best to leave the dough in the refrigerator, until you are ready to assemble.
- On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one disc until it is about 12 inches in diameter, and about 1/4 inch thick.
- Dust off any excess flour, and place the parchment paper, with dough round on top of it, onto a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the dough with 2 tsp. of sucre vanillé.
- Arrange 1/2 of your peach and sugar mixture onto the dough round, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border free of filling.
- Scatter one half of the butter pieces (about 1 tbsp) over the top of the peaches.
- Fold the dough border over the peach mixture, overlapping as you go.
- Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill, and repeat these steps with the remaining dough disc and filling.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, and milk to make an egg wash.
- Remove your galette from the refrigerator, after it has chilled for 15 minutes.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the dough. If you would like, you can sprinkle 1 tsp. of sugar over the egg washed dough.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Baking time may vary from oven to oven. You want to bake the galette until the crust is golden, and the peach filling is bubbling.
- Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm, or most commonly, at room temperature.
My tips for the best results:
- Use high quality, unsalted butter, like President French butter or Kerrygold Irish butter. If you are in the U.S., Whole Foods carries President butter, and most grocery stores now carry Kerrygold. This really makes a big difference in the lightness and flavor of your dough. With just a few ingredients making up the dough, the butter flavor really makes an impact.
- Don’t overwork your dough. Gently knead the dough with your fingers, until it comes together, then stop! Too much kneading will cause your dough to be dense and tough.
- Use seasonal fruit at its peak ripeness. Because we aren’t adding a ton of sugar to this recipe, you are really relying on the fruit to be the star, and to add sweetness.
- When assembling your galette, imperfection is key. Yes! you read that right. The galette is meant to be a simple, rustic dessert. Don’t stress too much about perfecting the dough folds, or arranging the fruit exactly so. It is meant to be a simple, non-fussy dessert.
I hope that you enjoy this peach galette recipe as much as I have! Please let me know if you try it, and how it turned out for you!
Super delicious recipe! And it’s not a bad choice for dessert for kids because it doesn’t contain a ton of sugar.
I’m glad that you like it!