TWD: Cheese and Tomato Galette

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Flo Braker





This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe- so easy that you can make a few to serve at a gathering, each with a different filling. I made the recipe as instructed, though this is one of those recipes begging for optional fillings of unlimited possibilities. (I did add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil before baking.)

The filling for this recipe is made up of Monterey Jack & mozzarella cheeses, basil, and tomatoes, a common flavor combination. You see it as caprese salad, margarita pizza, and caprese skewers to name a few, sans the Monterey Jack cheese.

At first bite I thought this tasted like your typical pizza, though bite after bite, I realized it was really great, fresh pizza. I am, however, undecided as to whether I like the crust or not. The dough is made with cornmeal which gives it a gritty bite, though it is soft and flaky at the same time. This is the same dough that was used for the berry galette the group made back in August; I used leftover pie dough I had in the freezer. I'm sure I would not have cared for this dough for the berry galette. I do still have half the dough in the freezer to give it another go to see if I truly like it or not. I'll let you know.

Other than being undecided about the crust, this was an easy, flavorful, light dinner. I served it alongside one of my favorite salads - Arugula Strawberry Salad.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Why is it for the life of me, I cannot roll out a circle of dough, except when I need to roll out a rectangular shape as I did here.

It did turn out round in the end, and if it didn't, that would be OK too, for galettes are supposed to be rustic looking.

I'm sure there will be many different versions of this galette made by the many talented bakers of this group. You can find the links for their delicious creations on the TWD site; look for the LYL: Cheese and Tomato Galette link.

TWD: Berry Galette

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
By Dorie Greenspan

When I saw that this recipe was chosen I initially was going to pass on it. We just made blueberry pie which posted this past Tuesday. Then I thought this would be a great way to use the leftover pie dough I had in the freezer from the blueberry pie recipe.

I had enough dough leftover to make two galettes. I filled one with berries and the other with peaches. I really had high hopes for the peach galette. The peaches are really full of flavor right now. Unfortunately by the time I got around to making this, my peaches, which I purchased too many days beforehand, were less than prime.

The recipes in this book tend to be too sweet for me; therefore I used only about one, to one and a half teaspoons of sugar to the one tablespoon, plus one teaspoon the recipe called for in the berry galette. I also omitted the butter and honey. I added some lemon zest and about three-quarters tablespoon of flour to help thicken the juices. Adding the flour made for a much better result than I had with the blueberry pie.

For the peach galette I sprinkled some Demerara sugar over the formed galette, and once out of the oven, I drizzled some agave nectar over the top. The peaches, being less than par, needed something more.

This is a dessert which the fruit is the star. Make sure your fruit is top notch ~ full of flavor. It will make a difference.

Galette's make for a great last minute dessert that can even be served to guests. I bet you have what you need in your pantry for a crust (just do a google search for galette or pie dough if you don't have the ingredients for this one) and may even have some fruit laying around, and who doesn't like a rustic looking pie, warm from the oven, oozing with goodness?

Success meter (1-3): 2 (this rating should not reflect on the original recipe due to my alterations.)

With the leftover fruit I made a

delicious smoothie!

Our hosts this week are Lisa of Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness. Visit there sites for the original recipe. You can see other variations from my fellow bakers over at the Tuesdays with Dorie website. Just look for the LYL post.