I wait all year for Chester Blackberries and when they arrived in the stores I decided to make this Blackberry Galette. Chester blackberries are incredibly sweet and tasty and perfect for eating straight or even better for pies. I decided to make a galette because it's easier to make than pies even though it uses the same pie dough recipe.
What are Chester Blackberries
Chester blackberries are a late summer blackberry that is round and wonderfully sweet. I absolutely love these blackberries and love making desserts with them. They're almost black and very sweet. Their incredible sweetness means that you don't need a lot of sugar when making pies or in this case a galette.
How to Make Pie Dough
Making pie dough is one of those essential baking skills that can be hard to master. Or at least it was for me. Growing up, my mother made the most amazing pies. The crust was always tender and flaky and the fillings were perfect. Anytime she used a square baking dish, my and my family rushed to get the corner pieces because those pieces had the most pie crust.
Here are my tips for making good pie dough not matter what recipe you use.
- Use cold ingredients. Your butter and water should be cold when they mixed into the dry ingredients. My mother sometimes chilled the flour. I haven't tried that technique yet, but it worked for her. I keep a jar that holds 2 cups of water in the refrigerator at all times so I know that I will have ice cold water whenever I need it.
- Don't overwork the dough. Working the dough too much will activate the gluten in the flour and create a dough that is harder to roll our and a finished pie crust that is chewy. Once the water is added only work it enough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to work it into the other ingredients and then shape it into a circle or square for your recipe.
- Keep the dough cool. After chilling the dough, let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to roll out. Quickly roll out the dough and fit it into whatever baking pan or pie plate that you are using. Then chill the dough again after shaping it.
Preparing the Blackberries for the Galette
One of the things to remember is that the amount of sugar called for in this recipe is a guideline. The final amount of sugar that you need will be based on your taste and the natural sweetness of the fruit.
When combining the sugar and the tapioca start of with about 2/3 of the sugar listed in the recipe. Taste the fruit after adding the sugar and the tapioca and add more sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches it's desired sweetness.
To make the berry filling, wash and dry the blackberries. I dry them by laying them single layer on paper towels and then patting the top of them dry with another paper towel.
Add lemon juice and lemon zest to the berries and gently toss to avoid breaking up the berries. Add the sugar and tapioca and gently mix them in, until you don't see any white tapioca bits. Let the berries sit for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
How to Make and Bake the Blackberry Galette
Galettes are really easy to make in part because you don't have to shape the dough to a pan and there is no cutting or crimping to make it fit.
While the berries are chilling roll out the dough. Take a half-sheet of parchment paper - I use the King Arther parchment paper. It's perfect for all kinds of projects. Sprinkle the parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough to a 14-inch circle. It is okay if it overhangs the parchment paper because you're going to fold the dough over the filling.
Use a slotted spoon the berries into the middle of the dough. Make sure you have a 3-4 inch boarder between the fruit. You should have the juice from the berries still inside the bowl. Don't add that to the filling yet. Fold the dough, in overlapping folds over the fruit. Brush off an excess flour and then brush the dough with the egg wash. Make sure to get under the dough folds. Chill the assembled galette for 20 minutes.
Place the galette on a on your baking sheet and spoon the reserved juices over the berries. Bake the galette until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is dark golden brown.
Let the galette cool to room temperature. Allowing it too cool will give the juices and fruit time to gel and make the galette easier to cut. Serve the galette with ice cream, whipped cream or all by itself.
This blackberry galette is delicious, so I hope you try it soon. If you do please leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @bakesbybrownsugar. And if you want to stay up the date on new recipes please sign up for my newsletter.
Other Summertime Desserts
If you're looking for other summertime or fruit-filled desserts check out these delicious recipes;
Blackberry Galette
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 1 1/4 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water or more if required
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Blackberry Filling
- 4 1/2 cups (572 grams) blackberries
- 1/3 cup (63 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca
Topping
- 1 (50 grams) large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
Make the Pie Dough
- Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is pea-sized. If using your fingers toss the butter in the dry ingredients to coat the butter then mash the pieces of butter between our thumb and forefinger until the butter is pea-sized.
- Add 1/4 cup of ice water and use a rubber spatula to toss together. The dough will start to come together, but will still be slightly crumbly or shaggy but should hold together when squeezed into a ball. If more water is needed add one teaspoon at a time.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough together, folding it over on itself until it starts to hold together. Try not to work the dough too much or it may become and overdeveloped and tough.
- Shape the dough into disk 1-inch thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 2 months.
- Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator right before you begin making the blackberry filling.
Make the Blackberry Filling
- Place the berries in a medium sized bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice and lemon zest over the berries. Gently stir with a large spoon. Combine the sugar, kosher salt, tapioca and sprinkle over the berries. Use a large spoon to combine the berries and dry ingredients until no white bits remain.
- Taste the berries and if you want them sweeter add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until desired sweetness is reached. Refrigerate the berries while you roll out the pie dough.
Bake the Galette
- Lightly flour a large piece of parchment paper (18 x 12-inches) and roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Lift the parchment paper with dough onto a cutting board or the back of a baking tray that is large enough to hold the galette but small enough to fit in your refrigerator. Use a slotted spoon to spoon the berries into the center of the dough. Leave the juices in the bowl.
- Fold the dough over the berries in overlapping sections. Brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush. Refrigerate the galette for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F while the galette is chilling. Whisk together the egg and water to make the egg wash.
- Remove the galette from the refrigerator and gently transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet. Brush it with the egg wash getting under the folds of the dough. Sprinkle it with the turbinado sugar. Take the reserved berry juice and spoon it over the berries.
- Place the galette in the oven and bake for 35 minutes (rotating halfway through the baking time) or until the crust is dark golden brown and the berry juices are bubbling. Remove the galette from the oven and allow to completely cool, about 3 hours before serving. Allowing the galette to cool will allow the fruit to set and make it easier to cut into nice clean slices.
- Serve the blackberry galette with ice cream or whipped cream or eat it all by itself.
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