Easy Peach Galette Recipe

Learn how to make the PERFECT pie crust and filling for this gorgeous rustic summer dessert with my detailed, step by step recipe! Summer doesn’t mean that baking takes a back seat in our house. Au contraire! With the bounty of fruits that comes with the season, tarts, pies, galettes like this strawberry tart, strawberry galette, mixed berry pie, and even peach cobbler and peach bars are unavoidable. While I do love a homey pie or tart, they just take too much time to make. That’s where these simple, rustic galettes come into the picture!

Peach galette recipe highlights

There are only 2 components to this peach galette

Pie crust – pie crusts are very easy to make. And they are very forgiving, especially when you make them free-form like for this easy galette. It’s completely OK even if it shrinks, and you don’t have to blind bake. But you can make this recipe even easier by using store-bought pie crust. Filling – pretty much anything goes. I’m making a peach galette here to make the most of the juicy peaches that I got my hands on recently at our local grocery store. You could even make a mixed stone fruit galette instead, and maybe throw some berries in there too, or make my strawberry galette recipe instead.

Ingredients

Pie crust ingredients

For a perfect, flaky pie crust, you have to ensure that all the ingredients for the crust are chilled.

Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter as well, but adjust the salt in the recipe to compensate for the salt in the butter if you do so. Water – Water is necessary to bring the dough together. However, too much water in the dough can result in too much gluten development. This could make it hard to roll out the dough. Vodka – This is optional. I use vodka as a substitute for some of the water in the recipe. You can replace it with water instead. But the vodka helps to prevent gluten formation by adding moisture to the dough without adding water. Vinegar – Vinegar is another ingredient that helps to reduce gluten formation in the dough. The acidity inhibits gluten formation. But I also love the slight fruity tang from using Apple cider vinegar. AP flour – All purpose flour is a great flour to use to make pie crusts. I do not recommend using bread flour due to the higher protein content. You can use cake flour if that’s all you have at home. But AP flour is what works perfectly well for this recipe. Sugar and salt – Added for flavor. Sugar can also help with the coloring of the dough (due to caramelization). Salt prevents the pie crust from tasting bland.

Peach filling ingredients

Peaches – I recommend going by weight rather than quantity, since weight will change depending on the size of the peaches you have. If in doubt, have more peaches at hand so you have more than enough for the filling. How can you say no to more juicy, ripe, in season peaches? I prefer to use fresh peaches over canned peaches for this recipe. Cornstarch / Instant ClearJel – The starch in the recipe acts as a thickener for the pie filling. As the galette bakes, the juices in the fruit will leech out and start to heat up. The starch molecules in the cornstarch / tapioca will absorb the liquid and swell up and thicken the mixture. This is crucial to prevent the juices from making the crust too soggy. Instead of using regular cornstarch, you can also use Instant ClearJel (my recommendation), or tapioca starch as well. Sugar – Sugar adds sweetness to the filling and brings out the fruity flavor of the peaches as they cook. Lemon juice or lime juice – The citric acid in lemon also helps to brighten up the flavors of the peaches. Vanilla and salt – Optional, but both ingredients add flavor. Other optional add-ins – Bourbon or Amaretto to add more flavor. Thyme, rosemary, and basil are herbs that pair well with peaches.

Ingredients to finish the galette

Egg yolks and milk – The egg wash helps to create a golden brown shiny crust on your galette. You can substitute this with a plain milk or cream wash instead as well. It just won’t be as shiny then though. Raw sugar (optional) – The addition of the sugar helps to create a lovely sweet crunchy texture on your crust. The sugar will stick to the crust only if you have an egg wash or milk wash on the crust. Semolina – This is optional. I like to sprinkle semolina on the bottom of the crust, and along with sugar. This adds an extra layer of crunch.

How to make a peach galette

How to make the galette crust

I use my homemade pie crust recipe here. You can make the pie crust in two different ways – using the food processor OR by hand. The reason why the crust for this galette is special is that it’s an all butter pie crust which not only makes it super easy to make, but it’s also incredibly light, flaky and delicious! Mix the flour, salt, and sugar (image 1). Then add the chilled and cubed butter and toss to coat (image 2). Cut or flatten the butter cubes into the flour (image 3). Rub the butter and flour together, so that you have smaller clumps of butter – about as large as hazelnuts – all coated in the flour (image 4). If the butter is softening too much, chill the mixture in the freezer for a few minutes until the butter hardens again. Add the apple cider vinegar and mix it in with your fingers or a fork (image 5). Then add the water and/or vodka while mixing it in until you start to form large clumps of butter, flour, and liquid (image 6). The pie crust dough is done if the dough forms into a large clump when squeezed together, while still looking a little dry. Turn the dough out onto a parchment paper and use the paper to squeeze the dough together to form a dough (image 7). Fold the dough over itself until the dough comes together. The dough should still have cracks on it, and dry spots too (image 8). For extra flakiness – Cut the dough in 4 and stack them on top of each other, and then flatten it all using a parchment paper or your palm. Form the dough into a disc again and wrap it with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Store in the fridge for about 1 hour until the dough has rested and becomes evenly hydrated.

How to make the peach galette filling

There’s no pre-cooking involved, so the filling for this summer dessert couldn’t be easier. It’s simply fresh peach slices, tossed with a handful of ingredients and layered on top of the pie dough.

What kind of peaches to use for this galette?

You can use yellow or white peaches. Yellow peaches are definitely more common. Both have very similar flavors, but the white peaches are said to be a little less acidic than yellow peaches, making them a little sweeter. If you’re lucky enough to find donut peaches, you can use those too!

How to choose ripe peaches for this galette

Look for good peaches that have a little “give” when you gently press them. Make sure to use the pads of your fingers to press the peaches, and not your nails. Also make sure not to squeeze them too hard, as they will bruise. Slightly overripe peaches are also perfect for this recipe, since you’ll be cooking them. Just make sure these sweet peaches don’t have any large bruises on the skin. Ripe peaches should also smell sweet when you smell them near the stem.

My peaches are not ripe, can I still use them?

If your peaches are not ripe, I do not recommend using them here as they won’t be sweet enough. However, you can place the peaches in a paper bag or cardboard box (closed), and leave them in your kitchen. They will ripen fast this way. To speed up the ripening, place an apple or banana in the paper bag or box.

Preparing the filling

Remove the pit from the peaches. I first cut them in half and twist the halves to remove the seed from one side. Then I halve the peach half with the seed and remove the piece without the seed, and cut out or pull out the seed from the remaining piece of peach (image 9). Then cut the peaches into thick slices – about ¼ inch thick (or 5 mm) (image 10). Alternatively, you can cut the peaches into thick wedges or cubes. Place them in a large bowl (image 11). Set aside a little sugar to sprinkle on top later. Whisk the cornstarch and sugar together until well-mixed (image 12). Add this to the peaches along with the lemon juice (image 13). Add vanilla, chopped herbs, and salt at this point too (image 14). Carefully fold the peach slices until all the peaches are coated well and mixed through. Set aside while you prepare the pie crust.

Preparing and baking the peach galette

Roll out the chilled pie crust on a floured surface. You can find out more about how to roll out the pie crust properly in my step by step guide on how to make pie crust (for beginners). Make sure to roll out the dough to an even thickness, and maintain a circle shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The circle should roughly be about 14 inches in diameter (image 15). If you have any jagged, rough edges, you can either cut it out, OR use your hands to make the edges smooth (image 16). Take a parchment paper and sprinkle the bottom with semolina flour. Place the pie crust on top of this. Next, take your peach filling and place the peaches in the middle of the pie crust leaving a 2 – 2.5 inch border. You can arrange the peach wedges in a circular pattern, OR form a criss-cross grid pattern, with sliced peaches as shown below that looks fancy (image 17). Alternatively, just pile the peaches into the middle of the dough for an even more rustic look. Make some angular cuts on the pie crust to make it easier to fold over (image 18). Then fold over the pie crust over the filling. Use water or some of the egg wash to make sure the folded over crust sticks together well (image 19). Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the peaches. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Before baking, brush the galette with egg wash and sprinkle the raw sugar on top of the crust and dot the butter on top of the peaches as well (image 20). Bake the peach galette in a preheated oven. To ensure a beautiful, flaky crust,

Bake in the lower third in the oven. Place the galette on a preheated baking tray so that the crust is in contact with a hot tray.

Once baked and the crust is beautifully golden, remove the peach galette from the oven and let it rest and cool down for about 20 minutes to allow the juices to thicken and settle.

Pro tips and secrets to my perfect galette crust

Galette crust is simply pie crust that is used as a tart. The tips for making this galette crust are identical to the tips for making homemade pie crust as well! The perfect galette crust will have some gluten in the dough so that it can create flaky layers and be cohesive, BUT not too much gluten that it becomes rubbery and hard to roll out. These are the tips and tricks I use to achieve that.

Using vinegar and vodka

A trick that I learned several years ago when making dough for pastries (such as puff pastry or shortcrust pastry or pie crust like this) is that vinegar and vodka are truly a magical ingredients when making pie crust! The addition of the acid inhibits some of the gluten formation in the dough, making it easier to handle and roll out the dough. As a result, the baked crust is just so light and flaky. However, apple cider vinegar can also add additional flavor too. Gluten loves water, and flour will form gluten in the presence of water, even while the dough is just resting. Vodka contributes to hydrating the flour in the dough helping it form a cohesive dough, without the water that can cause gluten formation. However, do keep in mind that not all of the alcohol will burn off during the baking process, and if that is of concern to you, you can leave it out, or use ice water instead.

Keeping the pie dough chilled at each step

Using chilled ingredients, and ensuring it is cold at each step will keep the butter cold in the dough. The butter pieces will melt and create pockets in the dough which will result in flaky layers as it bakes. It is also very important to not overhandle the dough to keep it nice and tender. The more your “knead” the dough, and the more gluten will develop, the more rubbery and touch the crust will be.

Size of the butter pieces

As you cut the butter into the flour, keep an eye on the size of the butter pieces. Larger the pieces of butter = more flaky pockets in the pie crust. Smaller the pieces of butter, the more mealy and sandy the crust will be (like pâte sucrée). For this peach galette recipe, we are looking for butter pieces that are about the size of hazelnuts or chickpeas. This will yield that flakiness we desire, while still maintaining a thinner crust.

Don’t skip the thickener

Since I first shared the recipe, I have made fruit galettes many times! Cornstarch or tapioca starch is perfect to thicken the peach pie filling, but I have since switched to using Instant ClearJel, which is modified cornstarch that thickens the filling even before heating it, AND it freezes well!

Bake the galette in the lower third of the oven, on top of a preheated baking tray

This will ensure that the bottom of the crust will bake well, and create nice layers, without burning the top of the crust.

How to serve this galette

This rustic peach galette is best served slightly warm, or at room temperature. Since a galette is much thinner than a pie, they cool down much faster, and the filling doesn’t have to “set” for you to cut into it. But I have had leftovers cold too, and they are still just as delicious. The crust however is best when warm or at room temperature. And nothing like a slice of this peach galette with a scoop of ice cream (vanilla ice cream, cereal milk ice cream, lemon ice cream, butterscotch ice cream are some of my favorites) or whipped cream in the summer heat!

Storage instructions

Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for about 1 – 2 days, and then in the fridge for another 2 – 3 days. The flavors will become stale as time goes by. You can wrap a baked galette and freeze it for up to 4 months. Then let it thaw out at room temperature before serving. However, this may change the texture of the pie crust, since it won’t be as crisp. Warm up the galette in a preheated oven for a few minutes to make the galette taste better before serving.