So apparently everyone is baking bread these days, and while I feel like I have experimented with bread quite a bit in life (see this; my bread baking has improved since then thankfully), I haven’t actually gotten around to making a loaf.  A part of that is not being able to find any yeast to experiment with making poolish, a part of that is working on other cooking projects, like baking.

I barely get to bake much at my normal cooking job, but it really can be fun, and I’ve been known to have a bit of a sweet tooth in the right circumstance.

I’m working my way back up through intensity and complexity of desserts, starting with a basic pie dough. The pie itself is more like a large handpie, but its called a gallette, which sounds fancy (because its French), and totally covers up the fact that I was too lazy to get this dough into a tin.

Easy Pie Dough Ratio

3 parts Flour (ap, buckwheat, whatever your heart desires)

2 Parts Fat (butter or shortening- I also like to grate the butter on a cheese grater when adding)

1 part water (cold water!)

 

You’ll also need:

Fruit for filling (approx 3 cups)

Cornstarch

lemon juice/zest/seasonings

Sugar

Egg wash

turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375

For the dough: Add the fat to the flour, with a pinch of salt,  and work through with your hands, or in a food processor, until the butter is the size of small pebbles to small rocks. I like my dough a little rustic.

Add the water and work til just incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out.

Note: This dough is great for anything and everything pie related– and can be jazzed up any number of ways– think herbs, cheese, fruit zests, etc.

For the filling- Mix 3 C fruit (whatever is in season or just laying around) with 1 Tbs of cornstarch, a little lemon juice, 1/2 or 1 C Sugar, and any other spices you’d like, like thyme with blueberries or cinnamon with apples, or jasmine tea with peaches (My favorite; I can’t wait for summer).

Place your filling in a pile in the middle of the rolled out dough, then fold over the edges until its like a little package. Brush with a little egg wash if desired, and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar.

Pop in the oven for 20–30 and get ready to impress without breaking a sweat (also my favorite).

-L