Rhubarb season is here and I am thrilled. Strawberries are a classic pairing with rhubarb, and they come together perfectly in this galette. What makes this the ultimate strawberry-rhubarb galette is the rye crust. Yes, of course you could just use store bought puff pastry or a ready made pie crust for this galette, but I implore you to try this rye crust. This rye crust recipe comes from the book, “Good to the Grain” by Kim Boyce and Amy Scattergood. It is flaky AF and I love the the nutty, subtle earthy flavour of the rye dough. It complements the sweetness of the strawberries and tanginess of the rhubarb.
The filling for this recipe comes from the King Arthur website.
Tips for making dough:
Start with making the dough. It will need time to chill. The butter must be ice cold when you work it into the flour. Don’t totally incorporate the butter. Only work it in until you can see pea sized pieces of butter. The pastry must be chilled for an hour before rolling it out.
Now here’s where the magic occurs. The dough is rolled out and folded into thirds, like a letter being stuffed out into an envelope. That rolling and folding is repeated 2 more times. What you are doing is creating distinct layers of dough and butter. Once the dough hits the hot oven, the water in the butter evaporates and creates steam. The steam gets trapped in the dough and creates air pockets. When the dough cools, you are left with delicate layers of the flakiest pastry. I could geek out on culinary alchemy all day. But suffice it to say, it’s worth taking the time to make this crust. You will be rewarded with the Ultimate Strawberry Rhubarb Galette.
While the dough is chilling, mix the strawberries and rhubarb with some sugar and let it sit to macerate for a while. It will release lots of liquid which we will use to make a glaze later.
You can make one big galette or several mini personal sized ones, your choice. Galettes are a free-form tart. Just fold the dough up over the sides. It will pleat naturally, it’s meant to be rustic looking. That is part of the galette aesthetic.
Brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar. Give the galette a good chill in the fridge before baking, to firm up the butter in the dough. Halfway through the baking time, add a few tablespoons of sliced almonds to the rim of the galette. If you add them at the beginning of the baking time, they will burn. I love the added crunchy texture they add to the crust.
Strawberry Rhubarb Galette with Rye Crust
Ingredients
Rye Crust
- 106 grams rye flour
- 135 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's kosher salt
- 170 grams cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 113 grams water ice cold
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Filling
- 380 grams strawberries hulled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces, fresh or frozen that have been thawed
- 380 grams rhubarb sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, fresh or frozen that has been thawed
- 66 grams granulated sugar
- 53 grams brown sugar
- 15 grams all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest from 1 lemon
Assembly
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup coarse sanding sugar
- 25 grams sliced almonds not toasted
Glaze
- strawberry rhubarb juice reserved from above
- 1.5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers optional
Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, adding back any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter. Add the 1/2-inch pieces of cold butter.
- Rub the butter between your fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue rubbing until the butter is in sizes ranging from peas to hazelnuts. The more quickly you do this, the more the butter will stay solid, which is important for the success of the recipe.
- Add the vinegar and 8 tablespoons of ice water to the flour mixture. Working from the outer edge of the flour, mix the ingredients with your hands just to moisten the flour. The dough needs to come together as mostly one lump, with a few shaggy pieces. Squeeze the dough together to see if a ball forms. If it is too dry to come together, add additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Pile the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, sprinkle a few drops of water over the top, wrap tightly, and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
- Unwrap the dough onto a floured surface. Pat the dough into a square, then use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle about 81/2 x 11 inches. The dough will be crumbly and rough around the edges, but don't add more flour or water, as it will come together during the rolling.
- For the first turn, fold the dough into thirds like a letter. The seam should be on the left side. Turn the dough so that the seam is at the top and parallel to your body.
- For the second turn, again roll the dough into an 81/2 x 11-inch rectangle and repeat the previous step.
- For the third turn, repeat the previous step, and then wrap the dough in plastic and chill in fridge for 1 hour or up to 3 days before using, or freezer for up to a month. Thaw dough in fridge if frozen
- In a large bowl, stir the strawberries and rhubarb with the granulated sugar, gently mixing until the sugar evenly coats the fruit. Set aside.
- Place the chilled pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 13”-14" inch circle, about 1/4" thick. Lay the circle of dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. It will overlap the edges of the paper, but you will be folding it over later when you form the galette. Let the dough rest at room temperature, lightly covered, while you finish the filling.
- Drain the strawberry-rhubarb mixture, pressing gently to remove any excess liquid; reserve the liquid for the glaze.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar, breaking up any large clumps with your fingers. Add the flour/sugar mixture and lemon zest to the drained fruit. Toss gently until the fruit is evenly coated.
- Pour filling into the center of the galette dough, leaving a 2 inch bare pastry border. Brush pastry border with egg wash.
- Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you lift it up and work your way around the galette. This sounds harder than it actually is. It will pleat naturally. Place galette onto a rimmed baking sheet and place into fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. After galette has chilled, remove from fridge, brush pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle crust with sliced almonds. Return galette to oven and continue baking for a further 10-15 minutes until galette has a firm, golden bottom crust, a bubbling filling, and a deeply coloured, crispy top crust. If in doubt, err on the side of baking the galettes a bit longer. They won’t dry out, and extra time in the oven will ensure a crispy crust.
- While the galette is baking, prepare the glaze. Pour the reserved strawberry-rhubarb juice (about 90g, 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) into a small saucepan. Add dried hibiscus flowers if using, Stir in the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Simmer the mixture until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes; it should be the consistency of heavy cream. Strain glaze to remove hibiscus flowers.
- Immediately after baking, brush the glaze onto the fruit-filled center of the galette. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with freshly whipped cream or ice cream, or simply enjoy plain.
Notes
Nutrition
More ideas for using rhubarb:
I hoard rhubarb during the local season and freeze it so that I can be assured of having it all year round. While you can find all kinds of other fruits and vegetables frozen in the supermarket, it’s not that easy to find frozen rhubarb. At least twice a week I mix roasted strawberry-rhubarb compote into my morning yogurt. Here’s what I do:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 2 cups frozen strawberries (no need to thaw) and 2 cups frozen sliced rhubarb (no need to thaw) onto baking sheet., Sprinkle with 1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes until fruit is tender. Use potato masher to mash fruit into jammy consistency. Store in airtight container in fridge for 2 weeks. Yummy mixed with yogurt, or use as a filling for hand pies, or an addition to cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich.
For more rhubarb deliciousness, check out these other rhubarb recipes.