A French galette is a buttery, golden brown pastry topped with fruit – anything from berries to apples – and is usually served as a lighter dessert or an indulgent breakfast.

The orange-flavored dough and the fruit filling are made separately, and can be personalized to your liking. I used apples and strawberries in my filling, but you can add other fruits such as pears, kiwis, blueberries or raspberries for a twist.

The dough of the galette takes five to 10 minutes to prepare and an hour to cool in the refrigerator. The filling takes 15 minutes to prepare and an hour to bake.

To create a gluten-free galette, replace the flour in the dough with rice flour. I suggest adding a tablespoon or two of almond flour so the dough will be easier to fold and the sugary fruit juices don’t leak out.

This recipe was adapted from arbuz.com

Strawberry and Apple Galette

1 ½ cup flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled

1-2 tablespoons orange zest

1 egg white

Zest the orange until you have two tablespoons. I used a fine cheese grater to grate the orange peel.

Cut the chilled, unsalted butter in small pieces and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Mix in the butter using your hands until the dough is of a coarse consistency with buttery rice-sized pebbles.

Add the orange zest and milk to the flour mixture. Using a fork, mix everything together until dough becomes clumpy.

Gather dough into a ball and flatten until it is of a circular shape, about 1 inch thick. Cover the dough with plastic and let it sit in the refrigerator for one hour.

Fruit Filling

2 apples

2 cups strawberries, sliced

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Peel the apples using a knife or a potato peeler and cut into small pieces. Cut the strawberries into thin slices as well and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars, almond extract, lemon juice and cornstarch. The cornstarch will prevent the fruit juices from leaking. Gently mix the fruit into the bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 400 F.

Flatten the dough into a 1-inch circle on the baking sheet and place the sugared fruit in the center, leaving two inches of dough exposed. Fold the exposed dough toward the center, creating a crust.

Gently crack an egg on the side of a bowl. Slowly release the egg white into the bowl and use the shell to hold the egg yolk. The white of the egg is all you will need.

Using a brush or a spoon, spread the egg white on the crust of the galette. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove the galette from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Using a spatula, gently remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack. Serve immediately.

Anna Puccinelli can be reached at [email protected]