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Word of Mouth: Galette

2008_08_15-galettes.jpggalette (gah-leht): n. A round, flat cake with a flaky pastry crust, originating in France.

We've been talking about crostatas a lot lately, and we started to wonder what the difference is between our beloved crostata and the more refined-sounding galette, plus how they both related to tarts...

 
 

Turns out, a galette and a crostata are essentially the same thing (one French, one Italian). Both of them differ from tarts in the sense that a tart is baked into a tart pan. Crostatas and galettes are typically free-form and rustic, with the dough edges folded up around the filling, which can be savory or sweet.

We've shown you our most recent creation, a Prune Plum Crostata with Brown Sugar Topping, but pears and apples are also classic galette fillings, since they aren't too runny and won't overflow a crust that isn't contained in a pan.

Here's an explanation from Jacques Pépin on the difference between a tart and a galette, with recipes for apple and potato galettes:

Do you have any favorite galette fillings? Savory or sweet?

Related: Recipe: Fig and Lavender Goat Cheese Galettes (pictured)

(Image: Gregory Han)

Tags

Word of Mouth, Sweets, tart, galette, crostata

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Comments (3)

Some plums are still in season, such as Emerald plums and Gian Plums - perfect for a plum galette:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/005277plum_galette.php

posted by protogarrett on 2008-10-02 10:49:55
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Ooo, seeing those figs all I can think is a fig and proscutto galette. Possibly with some mild cheese of some sort.

And now I'm hungry.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on 2008-10-02 11:36:59
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The Butler and Chef in South Park, SF makes an uh-mazing pumpkin galette during the fall season. You can also order them for pick up for a party. When I first started seeing fall stuff this year I got excited because I knew it was galette season, too!

posted by marniemo on 2008-10-02 13:02:40
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