This easy strawberry galette recipe is the answer to your spring and summer dessert plans. The tender crust is flaky and delicious, so much easier than making pie!
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Aside from being gorgeous and delicious, a fresh strawberry galette is an easy way to get summer berries into a dessert without any stress or exertion.
So what is a galette? A galette is basically a pie with a single, freeform crust, that is baked on a sheet pan, no pie pan necessary. Far less worry about shrinkage or fancy edges. They are rustic and made to be imperfect and impromptu.
We'll use a sour cream pie dough, which is flexible and un-finicky. It will hold its own as it gets crispy on the baking sheet, doesn't get soggy, and keeps all those bubbling strawberry juices contained.
Recipe adapted from multiple sources including Smitten Kitchen and New York Times Cooking.
Jump to:
- Ingredients you'll need for a strawberry galette
- How to make a strawberry galette
- Strawberry galette expert tips
- Make ahead, storage and leftovers
- How to serve a strawberry galette
- Recommended tools and equipment
- FAQ
- More strawberry recipes
- Strawberry galette is an easy spring and summer recipe that anyone can make!
- Recipe
Ingredients you'll need for a strawberry galette
For the strawberry filling
- Fresh strawberries: This galette is just made for spring and summer when strawberries are at their peak of perfection. But honestly, you can make it year round.
- Granulated sugar: Even if the strawberries are quite sweet, we need the sugar to help the juices set up.
- Corn starch: This is a must for thickening the galette filling.
- Lemon zest and lemon juice: Lemon juice gives us a hit of acid to balance the sweetness of the strawberries, and adds pectin which—again—helps the mixture thicken so you get that signature gooey strawberry pie filling texture when it comes out of the oven. The zest adds great aroma.
For the galette dough and finishing the crust
There are many different recipes for galette crust, some incorporate cornmeal or almond flour, some use buttermilk. This galette dough is made with a sour cream pie crust, which is a bit more forgiving than all-butter pie dough. It's tender and easy to roll out.
- All-purpose flour: Standard AP flour works perfectly.
- Cold unsalted butter: We'll use a whole stick of butter, and keep it as cold as we can throughout the process to ensure flaky layers in our finished crust.
- Kosher salt: We need a little salt to balance all the flavors.
- Sour cream: Sour cream adds more fat and a bit of moisture, and gives the dough a bit of flexibility so it's easy to handle and shape.
- Ice water: We may use a bit of it, we may use all of it. The important thing is to add it a little at a time so the crust doesn't get too wet.
- Egg and 1 teaspoon of water: This will make our egg wash to brush the crust before baking.
- Turbinado sugar (raw sugar): To sprinkle on the egg wash around the crust. You can also substitute granulated sugar.
How to make a strawberry galette
Step 1: Make the galette dough
Cut the butter into cubes and pop it into the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the flour, salt, and sugar together.
Drop the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture and toss to coat.
Use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour until has a crumbly texture with pieces of butter the size of small peas.
PRO TIP You can also work the butter into the flour with your fingers. I find that a pastry blender is much easier and faster, and you have less risk of the butter melting too quickly.
Add the sour cream and one tablespoon of the water to the mixture and gently bring it together with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Continue adding up to 3 more tablespoons of ice water one at a time, until a shaggy dough forms. It should hold together, but it shouldn't feel wet.
Turn the dough out onto the counter and bring it together with your hands or a bench scraper. Shape it into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
PRO TIP I like to use a bench scraper to give the pastry a few turns to bring it together instead of using my hands. It helps to keep the dough from getting warm, and it creates flaky layers.
Step 2: Make the strawberry filling
Wait to make the filling until the dough is done chilling and you are ready to roll it out.
Hull the strawberries and cut them into ¼-inch slices.
Add sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the berries.
Stir to combine, making sure that there are no white spots of corn starch remaining. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the crust.
Whisk together the egg and water for the egg wash.
Step 3: Roll out the dough
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Before rolling out the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 - 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- Place the disk of dough on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle a bit of flour on top, and flour your rolling pin.
- Gently roll the crust out in one direction with each stroke, not back and forth, and rotate the crust as you go to keep it from sticking. Add more flour to the surface if need be.
- Once the crust has reached about 14 inches in diameter, gently drape it over your rolling pin and transfer to the parchment paper. Leave the edges ragged, they'll get crispy as it bakes.
PRO TIP If the dough is too cold when you try to roll it out, it can crack and split. You'll know it's the right temperature when it's easy to roll out, but still feels cold to the touch.
Step 4: Assemble the galette
Give the strawberries a good stir to move the juices around, then pour them into the center of the galette crust, leaving a 2 or 3-inch border.
Gently fold in the edges of the crust around the strawberries, creating little pleats as you go around.
Brush the outside of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle the raw sugar over it. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.
Let the strawberry galette to stand for at least 15-20 minutes before serving, or wait until it has come to room temperature, to allow the filling to set up.
Strawberry galette expert tips
- The keys to a flaky, buttery galette crust are to keep the butter cold, and work the dough as little as possible.
- Can't get your dough rolled into a perfect circle? No worries, ovals are fine! They taste just as good as circles!
- If your kitchen is very warm and your dough is starting to feel really warm as you roll it, pop it back into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or so. You don't want the butter to be melted before you get it into the oven.
- Don't stress about folding galette crust around the strawberries in some sort of perfect way. The crust is supposed to look rustic. Fold it with pleats, make it flat sided, make it rounded—as long as it is holding the strawberries and their juices without cracks, you are good to go.
- Do not be tempted to stuff this galette with too many strawberries. Believe me, I tried. The dough to fruit ratio is perfect in this recipe. If you try to add more fruit, the crust will not be able to hold the juices.
- Yes, we are baking this strawberry galette at 400 degrees F, a hotter temperature than you might expect. This helps to seal the crust quickly so it keeps its shape and stays crispy.
- It's okay if your galette leaks a little bit. That is part of the charm. However, if it is leaking a LOT—like all the juice ran out and is burning on the parchment—then you've got a problem with your crust: It may have been too warm, so the butter melted too fast and let the liquid run out. If it's too cold it can break and crack. If it's too wet, it won't set fast enough to hold the liquid. If it's too dry, it could split open.
Make ahead, storage and leftovers
A strawberry galette is best the day it is made, but it can last another day if necessary. If you really want to make it ahead, I would suggest that you don't do the egg wash and turbinado sugar on the crust. The sugar will start to absorb moisture and soften the egdes of the crust.
The crust can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
If you have leftovers, cover the galette loosely with foil and keep at room temperature in a cooler place in your kitchen, just as you would a fruit pie, for up to two days.
How to serve a strawberry galette
Make sure to let the galette cool for 15-20 minutes to allow the strawberry filling to set up. After that, you can serve it warm or serve it at room temperature.
I personally like this strawberry galette exactly as is, no accoutrements. But you can top it with whipped cream, serve it with vanilla ice cream, or go double strawberry and put some strawberry ice cream on the side.
Recommended tools and equipment
The tools needed to make a strawberry galette can be found in any moderately equipped kitchen. Nothing too specialized here. That's another thing that makes this recipe so great.
- Mixing bowl, pastry blender, silicone spatula: We'll need the pastry blender to blend the butter into the flour, and the silicone spatula will help us mix the dough together gently when adding sour cream and ice water.
- Kitchen scale: This is optional, but weighing your flour will ensure that you have the right ratio of flour to liquid so that your crust doesn't end up too wet or dry.
- Bench scraper: This tool is also optional, but I like to use it to bring the galette dough together instead of using my hands. When you turn the dough a few times with a bench scraper, you add flaky layers, and you run less risk of the butter melting because you are not using your hands as much.
- Plastic wrap: To wrap the dough while it rests in the refrigerator.
- Paring knife and cutting board: To cut our fresh strawberries into pretty slices.
- Rolling pin and pastry brush: I like a French tapered rolling pin for galette dough because it's easy to handle and doesn't put too much pressure on the dough. You'll need the pastry brush to apply the egg wash to the crust.
- Parchment paper and baking sheet: The strawberry galette will bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet, no need for a pie pan. A sheet pan is best, in case you have a leak the edges will keep the juices from running over onto the bottom of your oven.
FAQ
There's really no difference, it's just about choosing the pie dough recipe you want to use. I've chosen to use a sour cream pie dough for this strawberry galette dough because it is very easy to work with. You can use all-butter pie dough, you can use a dough that has cornmeal in it, one that has cream cheese in it, etc. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe that you know and love and are a pro at making, use that one!
First, bake the galette at a higher temperature which will help to seal the crust quickly and keep the bottom crisp. There are a couple of other tricks you can try: 1. Brush the bottom of the crust with egg white to create a seal. 2. Add semolina flour or almond flour to the bottom of the galette before adding the strawberries. BUT—this will actually absorb some of the liquid, so you may not have as gooey a filling as you would like.
More strawberry recipes
- Strawberry scones will make your weekend breakfast dreams come true!
- A Strawberry Arugula Salad proves that strawberries aren't just for desserts.
- Whip up a batch of Strawberry Compote when you have oodles of strawberries hanging around.
Strawberry galette is an easy spring and summer recipe that anyone can make!
- Make it at the peak of strawberry season for amazing flavor!
- We'll use a flexible, tender galette dough made with sour cream that even beginner bakers can make with ease.
- Minimal prep, and bakes in about 30 minutes.
- A strawberry galette has a beautiful, rustic look, so there's no need to worry about perfection. Let it be a lazy summer situation.
- Once you learn how to make this one, you'll be able to easily make other galette variations.
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Recipe
Strawberry Galette
Equipment
- kitchen scale optional
- bench scraper optional
Ingredients
Galette Dough
- 165 grams all-purpose flour about 1⅓ cup
- 1½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter one stick
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream
- 4 tablespoon ice water You may not need all of it
- 1 egg + 1 teaspoon water for the egg wash to brush on the crust
- turbinado (raw) sugar for sprinkling on the edge of the crust before baking
Strawberry Filling
- 18 ounces fresh strawberries about 3½ cups once sliced
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
Instructions
Galette Crust
- Cut the butter into cubes and pop it into the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, salt, and sugar together.
- Drop the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture and toss to coat. Use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour until has a crumbly texture with pieces of butter the size of small peas.
- Add the sour cream and one tablespoon of the water to the mixture and gently bring it together with a spatula or wooden spoon. Continue adding up to 3 more tablespoons of ice water ONE AT A TIME, until a shaggy dough forms. It should hold together, but it shouldn't feel wet.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter and bring it together with your hands or a bench scraper. Shape it into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
Strawberry Filling
- **Wait to make the filling until the dough is done chilling and you are ready to roll it out.**
- Hull the strawberries and cut them into ¼-inch slices.
- Add sliced berries to a large bowl along with the sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir to combine, making sure that there are no white spots of corn starch remaining. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the crust.
Roll out the dough
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together the egg and water for the egg wash.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Before rolling out the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 - 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- Place the disk of dough on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle a bit of flour on top, and flour your rolling pin. Gently roll the crust out in one direction, not back and forth, and rotate the crust as you go to keep it from sticking. Add more flour to the surface if need be.
- Once the crust has reached about 14 inches in diameter, gently drape it over your rolling pin and transfer to the parchment paper. Leave the edges ragged, they'll get crispy as it bakes.
Assemble the galette
- Give the strawberries a good stir to move the juices around, then pour them into the center of the galette crust, leaving a 2 or 3-inch border. Gently fold in the edges of the crust around the strawberries, creating little pleats as you go around.
- Brush the outside of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle the raw sugar over it. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.
- Let the strawberry galette to stand for at least 15-20 minutes before serving, or wait until it has come to room temperature, to allow the filling to set up.
Notes
- You can work the butter into the flour with your fingers, but I find that a pastry blender is much easier and faster, and you have less risk of the butter melting too quickly.
- I like to use a bench scraper to give the pastry a few turns to bring it together instead of using my hands. It helps to keep the dough from getting warm, and it creates flaky layers.
- Can't get your dough rolled into a perfect circle? No worries, ovals are fine! They taste just as good as circles!
- It's okay if your galette leaks a little bit. That is part of the charm. However, if it is leaking a LOT—like all the juice ran out and is burning on the parchment—then you've got a problem with your crust: It may have been too warm, so the butter melted too fast and let the liquid run out. If it's too cold it can break and crack. If it's too wet, it won't set fast enough to hold the liquid. If it's too dry, it could split open.
- Be sure to read the post above for more tips and tricks!
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