Blueberry Rustic Tart

So, what to do with all of those blueberries?

I’m not gonna lie, we made a pretty big dent just snacking on handfuls… but with so much fresh fruit in the house, we had to make something special.

I love to bake, and my go-to favorite for fruit is always a pie. But I really wanted to try something new, and if you’re on Pinterest, you’ll know why I was tempted by this particular treat. In the land of food porn, the rustic tart is king… and there’s a darn good reason for it.

The rustic tart (or galette) isn’t just pretty, it’s also super easy to make. You just make up a pastry dough, throw in some fruit with a little sugar, fold and bake. Done.

I used a dough from Tartine that, as it turns out, is completely worth its more time intensive nature… but if you’re looking for a quick fix you can always run to the store and consult with the dough boy… he makes a pretty rockin’ pie crust that could easily go from zero to galette in no more than an hour.

Because this particular dough really is a flaky, buttery wonder, I’ll share the recipe I used. If you want to use another (maybe this one, doubled?) or buy a pre-made crust, you can skip all the way down to step six.

Enjoy! And let me know if you try this crust. It’s different than anything I’ve ever seen, but oh so worth it in the end.

Blueberry Galettes
Adapted from Tartine, by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson
Makes 2 large or 12 small galettes

If you’re looking for just one, I highly recommend making the full batch and freezing the dough. It will keep for up to three months, and can be pulled out in a pinch at any time. Just defrost for a bit in the fridge.

For the Dough:
2 cups (1 lb… as in one whole box… I never said it was healthy) unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 2/3 cups pastry flour
OR
5 cups of all-purpose flour

For the Filling:
About 6 cups blueberries
Granulated sugar
Almond cookies, crushed (optional)

For the Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cream
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling (I used turbinado sugar, but in retrospect I think granulated sugar would have a better look.)

Plus a little confectioners sugar, for dusting.

1. To make the dough, cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and put them in the freezer. Measure the water, dissolve the salt into it and put into the freezer as well. Chill both for about 10 minutes.

2. Measure the flour onto a large, flat work surface and spread into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour and toss a little flour over the butter so that your rolling pin won’t stick, and begin rolling.

I know this seems crazy, but do give it a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

When the butter starts flattening out into long, thin pieces, use a bench scraper to scoop up the sides of the rectangle so that it is the size that you started with. Repeat the rolling and scraping 3 or 4 times.

3. Make a well in the center and pour all of the water into it. Using the bench scraper, scoop the sides of the dough into the center, cutting the water through the dough. Keep scraping and cutting until the dough is a shaggy mass and shape into a rectangle.

4. Lightly dust the top with flour and roll out the rectangle until it is half as large again, then scrape the top, bottom and sides together to the original size and re-roll. Repeat 3 or 4 times. Finally, it should begin to look like a smooth and cohesive dough.

Transfer rectangle of dough to a large baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for about an hour, maybe a little less. Don’t skip this step, the fridge is your friend, no matter how hard it might make your arms work when the time comes to roll.

5. When you are ready to roll the dough, divide it into 2 equal portions if making large galettes or 12 equal portions for small ones. Roll the dough into circle shapes by rolling from the center to each end, not flattening the end points. Transfer to baking sheets and chill again for 10 minutes.

Because I’m a bit too much of a perfectionist, I paused about three quarters of the way through this process to cut a perfect circle. I used a simple bowl, turned it upside down, and cut around, then continued to roll the dough to a perfect circle.

Mark jokes that because of this, you should consider my tarts “neo-rustic.”

6. Before measuring your fruit, crush a few almond cookies and sprinkle them in the center of the dough. This step wasn’t included in Tartine’s original recipe, but is recommended by David Liebovitz as a way to both add flavor and protect the crust from all that beautiful juicy fruit.

7. Fill the center of each dough circle with fruit, leaving a 5cm edge uncovered on the large galettes or a 2cm edge on the small ones.

Sprinkle 2-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar for large galettes or 1-2 teaspoons for each small, depending on sweetness. Fold in the sides of the circle to cover the fruit partially and chill for another 10 minutes.

You can find some good tips here on pleating your crust, just in case you want to make it fancy.

7. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375ºF. To make the egg wash, whisk egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the pastry edges and then sprinkle with granulated sugar.

8. Bake the galettes until the crust has visibly puffed and baked to dark golden brown and the juice from the fruit is bubbling inside – 45-60 minutes for large galettes and 40-50 minutes for small galettes. Rotate the baking sheets at the midway point to ensure even baking.

Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar for the look above, and serve hot or at room temperature.

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