Something happened on Instagram once Summer hit. Crostatas and Galettes EVERYWHERE – you know, that easy breezy, “I just through this old thing together” rustic crust, barely containing top-of-the-season juicy, glazed fruit. Everyone was doing it. And I had never made one. Gasp! Could it really be that easy breezy? Is there a such thing as “everyday pie”? Am I this kind of person? I had to know.
I tried many recipes and am officially crostata-ed out, but I learned a lot!
CRUST
If you’re a beginner and want a quick, simple, and forgiving pie crust, look no further than Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. It was delicious and came together without much fuss. I was also doing twelve other things while making this crust, so I’m pretty certain that it’s nearly impossible to mess up.
Want to put in a little more effort for those impossible buttery, flaky layers? Bon Appetit is the winner. I love this technique. You cut really cold butter into thin rectangles, toss them into the flour mixture, then roll the butter into the flour, creating these long sheets that puff into layers while baking. It WORKS! The recipe includes wonderful step by step photos – super helpful. The result is flaky and tender and oh so buttery.
FILLING
I did some serious overthinking on the filling (the first time). Obsessing over ratios of thickeners and sugar to fruit. What I learned? It’s not that complicated. Adjust the sugar based on your taste and the sweetness of your fruit. Adjust the starch based on the type of fruit (Smitten Kitchen has great detail on this in her recipe above). We’re just talking about a few teaspoons – don’t overthink it. I played exclusively with peaches because they were in abundance here, but you can use whatever you have – berries, cherries, plums, rhubarb.
Beyond the sugar and thickener, you can riff to your heart’s content, if that’s your thing! You can add a little citrus zest, grated ginger, maybe a touch of cinnamon. Or keep it simple and let the fruit shine.
I do recommend brushing some jam/marmalade on top of the fruit before baking to give a nice sheen and sweetness. Peach or Apricot works well as it doesn’t interfere with the natural color of your fruit.
VERDICT
My verdict on the Crostata/Gallette (same thing btw)? Worth it. Easy and adaptable. Bonus, it’s meant to be imperfect – my kind of dessert.