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Apple Galette – Pie without a Dish

apple galette

This is apple galette is a rustic French tart with a rather fanciful name, but at the end of the day it is just a pie without a plate. It is simple to make and imperfection is part of its old world charm. No fancy fluting or lattice top crust to worry about and yet the flavor is just as wonderful.

A galette can be made with any filling, but right now the apples are abundant and calling me. Since there are so many varieties of apples available, I like to use a few to create the filling. Some will turn to sauce (McIntosh), some will keep their shape (Prairie Spy), others will be sweet (HoneyCrisp) and some will be tart (Haralson). You can mix and match to suit your mood. The crust should be tender and flaky and just barely strong enough to hold up to the apples. It adds to the drama if some of the juices escape, which is why we bake on a sided baking sheet.

Apple Galette Recipe

See me make the recipe step by step here, then head to the bottom of this post for the full recipe.

On a floured surface, roll out the chilled pie dough.

It should be 1/8-inch thick circle. Dust off any extra flour and lay it on the parchment.

Make the filling:

Toss together the cut apples, sugar, salt, cinnamon and zest in a bowl.

Pile the apples in the middle of the dough.

Fold the dough up, so it covers at least 2 inches of the filling, more is ok.

apple galette

Brush the edge with egg wash and dust generously with sugar.

Loosely tent the top of the galette with foil. (Most apple pies will have a top crust that traps the steam and helps to cook the apples. Since this is an open top, we need to create that closed environment with the foil.)

Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 more minutes.

apple galette

Serve hot or at room temperature.

apple galette

Apple Galette

This is apple galette is a rustic French tart with a rather fanciful name, but at the end of the day it is just a pie without a plate. It is simple to make and imperfection is part of its old world charm. No fancy fluting or lattice top crust to worry about and yet the flavor is just as wonderful.
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Ingredients

  • 6 apples peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 recipe pie dough
  • Egg wash egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • sugar for dusting top of crust

Instructions

To Make the Pie

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
  • On a floured surface, roll out the chilled pie dough. It should be 1/8-inch thick circle. Dust off any extra flour and lay it on the parchment.

To Make the Filling

  • Toss together the cut apples, sugar, salt, cinnamon and zest in a bowl.
  • Pile the apples in the middle of the dough. Fold the dough up, so it covers at least 2 inches of the filling, more is ok. Brush the edge with egg wash and dust generously with sugar.
  • Loosely tent the top of the galette with foil. (Most apple pies will have a top crust that traps the steam and helps to cook the apples. Since this is an open top, we need to create that closed environment with the foil.)
  • Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 more minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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32 thoughts to “Apple Galette – Pie without a Dish”

  1. Gorgeous! I’ve been all about the galettes lately, will have to try an apple one soon. Never thought about tenting it while baking, thanks for the tip!

  2. Looks lovely Zoe…

    This is one of the first baking blogs I read many moons ago, and gave me the courage to make my first buttercream and got one of my most delicious cake’ recipe (The Ultimate Carrot Cake)..have since tried 7- 8 versions of it, and like Carol Bloom’s recipe you posted BEST!

    Just wanted you to know ‘ve finally started my own Food and Life Blog and you’ve been such an inspiration…thanks for the lovely posts and detailed step by step instructions with photos.

  3. Hi Zoe,
    I found your site through my daughter and have tried your “Not Your Average Devil’s Food Cupcakes” (which are delicious I might add) and was wondering if the amount of confectioner’s sugar in the icing could be a miss print. I found that if you used 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar as the recipe indicates the icing was too runny. But if I used 1 lb. it was much better. Will also try the apple galette when my husband returns from out of town.

    1. Hi Nancy,

      I wonder if your cream cheese and butter were very soft when you made this? The amounts are as I intended them and the consistency is thick enough to pipe, but if your ingredients were very soft, you may need to refrigerate the icing a bit first. Having said that, if you are getting the result you love with 1-pound of confectioners’ sugar, then by all means keep doing it that way! 🙂

      Thanks, Zoë

  4. I love the rustic look of galette’s but what I hate is that they almost always leak making it difficult to remove from the parchment. Next time I’ve decided to spray my parchment to see if it releases easier. Have you found another way that works?

    Yours looks beautiful!

    1. Hi Vicki,

      I do think greasing your parchment will do the trick. The other thing that helps is to remove the tart from the parchment before the juices start to sieze up and stick or turns to hard caramel.

      Thanks, Zoë

  5. I just finished the Apple Galette and it is delicious. After reading some of the comments and using my own experience with galettes I have found that if you add just a bit of flour (not much) it helps soak up the juices. After doing this I have found that my galettes do not leak nearly as much and most times not at all.

  6. Hello Zoe, I baked your Apple Galette for Thanksgiving Dinner with my family. It went like hotcakes. Everyone loved it. It was not to sweet and the lemon zest really hit the mark. It will not be a tradition for us during the holidays.

    I live and am from Ruston, La the home of the Mitchum Peaches and Pop’s Blueberry Patch both of whom grow the biggest fattest peaches and blueberries you have ever had. As soon as the season comes I am going try both of these in the galette. I bet they will be fabulous.

    I am so excited about finding your site. I really love it. All of your recipes I have tried have been just great and fairly easy. However, I have a question for you. What is the difference between pie crust with and without eggs. Some recipes call for them and others do not.

    Anyway I love your site and recipes.

    Sincerely,

    Kathleen

  7. hey zoe,
    just wanted to know since apples vary in size, is there a rough cup(s) or gram measurement to how much sliced apples i should use?
    thanks

  8. Would you please tell me the pronunciation of the word – galette. Is it Gal – et or Ga lay? Thank you! Patty

  9. Will this work with frozen apple slices? I have some left I’d like to use before this year’s batch.
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Judy,

      I’ve never worked with frozen apple slices, so I am not sure. I bet they break down a bit when thawed and release some of their liquid, so you’ll need to keep that in mind when using them. Let me know if it works.

      Thanks, Zoë

  10. I made this galette today and it was delicious! I admit I used my standard Crisco (gasp!) crust, but the filling was the perfect balance of sweet, apple and spice. And I love how easy it is. Somehow just seems so much easier than pie. Maybe it’s the perfection factor with pies. 🙂

  11. I make galettes often especially when peaches are at their best. For the apple I pop a scoop of ice cream OR make a brown sugar sauce to drizzle over. Thanks for your terrific blog.

  12. Just made your apple galette for the first time and I have to say it is amazing. I did add a bit of all-spice to the apple mixture but other than that it turned out well following your instructions. Will definitely be making rhis again. May even make some caramel sauce to drizzle over it. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

  13. Zoe,
    I bake this galette for Thanksgiving and it was delicious so thank you very much for the recipe and the pointers!
    Susan

  14. In my previous post, I wrote “bake” instead of “baked”; sorry, I didn’t know that I was OCD until I typed this…LOL!

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