This apple galette with whole-wheat crust recipe offers a rustic take on a traditional French dessert.

For a lot of people in Homer, early Autumn means harvest season, with potatoes, carrots, currants, cabbage and the like. But for a smaller number of those people, that means it’s time to pick their apples. My family’s backyard sports a Cortland apple tree that just recently began fruiting, and with more apples than we and the local porcupines knew what to do with, I decided that the best course of action would be to turn them into something delicious and seasonally pertinent: whole-wheat apple galette.

Originally of French origin, galettes are defined as a flat, round cake, either sweet or savory (in our case, sweet) and while usually made with puff pastry, can be made with a sweet pastry crust — essentially, just an open-faced pie. This recipe, however, does not have the baker crimp the crust’s edge to create that traditional pie look, but rather fold it over the filling in a more rustic fashion.

Developed in New York and bred to be a cross between McIntosh and Ben Davis apples, Cortland apples can withstand cold climates, making it a perfect choice for those of us up north. These tend to ripen in early October, but late September doesn’t seem to deter them by much. Additionally, Cortland apples can be processed into apple sauce, which is known for its pinkish hue.

A rustic galette makes a good Fall party dessert, (or even a breakfast), eaten either warm or cooled, and while most people would probably pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some with ties to the Midwest might top it with a slice of cheese. Sounds strange, right? Well, did you ever have apples and cheese as a snack? It’s a similar idea, and it can be a delicious combination once you get used to it.

This recipe uses a whole-wheat pastry crust, composed of a very simple set of ingredients: flour, butter, salt, sugar and water. While many pie crusts are typically made from either a white/whole wheat flour combination or entirely from white flour, the whole-wheat aspect of this recipe provides several benefits. Not only is whole wheat higher in fiber and minerals than white flour due to how it’s processed, but it makes for a firmer, far less gummy crust that’s less likely to crumble when cut into. However, if the baker is concerned with tenderness in their crust, they may replace some of the recipe’s whole wheat with white.

Note: Whole-wheat crusts may be a little more difficult to roll out than others due to its firmer nature, so a little more cold water is all right to use if need be. Just make sure that the surface you’re rolling it out on is sufficiently floured/non-stick, as this dough tends to get pretty glued down. Be careful not to work the dough too much, as overworking can make for a tough, unpalatable crust.

For the crust:

• 1 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour plus more for dusting
• ½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons cold water
  
  

(Note: This recipe can be doubled to create a top crust for a pie.)

1) Mix together the flour, salt and  sugar in a large bowl.

2) Slice or grate the butter into the bowl, and mix it all together with your fingers until the butter is in small flakes. Work quickly and make sure your hands are cold, as you want the butter to melt as little as possible.

3) Sprinkle the water over the dough in tablespoon-increments and mix together with a wooden spoon. If the dough seems too dry, you can add another tablespoon of cold water, but you generally shouldn’t have to.

4) Fold the dough over on itself a couple of times and roll out onto a floured surface until the dough is wide enough to hang over the edges of your pie pan by a couple of inches. If the shape is uneven, you can trim the excess crust and add it to the sides that are lacking.

5) Transfer the dough to your pan and press down to the bottom of the dish, transferring to your refrigerator immediately. There is no need to score the bottom, as this recipe does not include blind-baking.

For the filling:

• 6 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples, either home-grown or storebought
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons white sugar plus more for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon plus more for sprinkling
• Lump of butter
  
  

1) Set the oven to 350 °F and start on the filling.

2) Mix together the peeled apple slices, cornstarch, cinnamon and the 4 tablespoons of sugar in a large mixing bowl until the slices are evenly coated.

3) Dump the mixture into the pie pan, spreading evenly, then fold the edges of the crust over the filling to create the traditional galette look.

4) Sprinkle the crust with more sugar and cinnamon, then distribute the lump of butter in small chunks atop the filling.

5) When the oven is done pre-heating, put the galette on the middle rack and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown and the filling is visibly bubbling all over.