Fig Galette

Fig Galette

Our fig tree is loaded with figs and I've been busy testing out new recipes. My favorite way to enjoy figs is strait from the tree, but unfortunately they all ripen at once and there is no way I could our family could ever eat enough to keep up with our trees bounty! Today I made a fig galette! I don't typically bake much but I've enjoyed learning the science and art of making pie crust and playing with incorporating whole grains and healthy oils.  I used whole figs in this galette, but my next experiment will be to use fig jam instead. I'm by no means a chef so take the recipe below with a grain of salt (or two).

Pie Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour (it's best to use pastry flour but I used what I had in the pantry)
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbs unsalted butter (cut into tablespoon chunks and frozen)
1/4 cup coconut oil (it was a hot day so I put it in the refrigerator to harden up a bit before hand)
ice-water

Instructions:
Note: From everything I've read about making pie crust, it is important to keep everything cold. I put my mixing bowl in the refrigerator and my pastry knife and rolling pin in the freezer while I was gathering my ingredients. You don't want the butter to melt while you are making the dough so work fast and handle the dough as little as possible.

1. Sift all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. (You can use a food processor or stand mixer, but I prefer to do it by hand so that I can gage if the butter is getting too soft).
2. Take the butter and your pastry knife out of the freezer and cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly dough with pea sized clumps of butter. (there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube if you need a visual aid). Once you have the right consistency use your hands to mush the butter pieces flat. I think I did this for a minute at most. It helps you get a flaky crust. I was doing this on a hot day so I put the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes to make sure the butter wasn't getting too soft.
3. Add the coconut oil and gently mix in with the pastry knife or hands until just combined.
4. Add the ice-water to the dough one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms into a ball.
5. Flatten the dough into a disk (the more well shaped the disk the easier it is to roll it out into a nice circle later). The dough shouldn't crumple or crack (if it does you need more water).  You want to see chunks of butter in the dough. Cover in plastic wrap, wax paper, or put in a ziplock bag and freeze for at least an hour. I've read that it's good to leave whole wheat dough overnight to let the gluten relax, but my figs wouldn't wait a day.
6. While the dough was chillin' I made the frangipani and the fig filling.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
8. Once the dough has chilled take it out of the refrigerator and take your rolling pin out of the freezer. If the dough has been in the fridge for a few hours then let it sit for a few minutes to soften slightly.
9. Roll your dough out into a circle approximately 12 - 13 inches. Lightly flour your surface and dough to prevent sticking. However, try to use as little flour as possible.
10. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet (I used a round pizza pan) that is greased or has parchment.
11. Use a plate (something round and approximately 9-10 inches) and turn upside down and gently press on the dough to mark the outline for the bottom of your pie. This is the area that will be filled.
12. You can add chopped nuts to the bottom of the pie crust if desired. Then spread the frangipane on the dough out to the edges.
13. Fill the circle with the fig filling. You can carefully place the pieces for a nice neat look or you can just pile them in like I did.
14. Gently fold the corners of the dough over the filling overlapping the sides. A galette is a "rustic tart" so the crust is free-form, but try to make sure that there aren't gaps where the juices will bubble over or it will make the crust soggy (and we've worked so hard to make sure we have a nice flaky crust it would be a shame to ruin that now).
15. Wet your hands with water and gently moisten the outside of the crust.
16. Mix together some sugar (I used turbinado) and cinnamon and sprinkle on the outside of the crust.
17. Bake at 400 F for approximately 40 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
18. Let cool and enjoy!

Frangipane
I used this recipe and substituted vanilla extract for the vanilla paste, but you could use any frangipane recipe. Note the recipe I used made about three galettes worth of frangipane.

Filling
Approximately 12 ripe figs washed and quartered. Place in a bowl and add brown sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon to taste. I used approximately 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp cardamom. I definitely could have used more of the spices.  Let sit until the dough is ready.