I love making galettes because they are pretty much impossible to mess up. As long as you have a dependable dough recipe, you can fill it with most fruit, make a few rustic folds, and you’re on your way to a really tasty treat. You can also get really intricate with arranging the filling like I tend to do. But though fun and meditative, it’s really not required, and almost takes away from the ease of the preparation synonymous with galette.
Apple season is here, and our fruit bowl is constantly overflowing with beautiful varieties of apples, Empire being a recent favorite. Apples bake up beautifully in a galette, maintaining their integrity all the while turning jammy and soft. In this recipe, we pair the apples with pine nuts, which bring a buttery richness to the filling. You can technically omit them altogether and just have a filling of apples, sugar, and spices, but we love what the nuts do for the overall flavor. Hope you’ll give this recipe a try if you find yourself with a surplus of apples!
- 1½ cups spelt, whole wheat, or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- pinch sea salt
- 3 tablespoons soft coconut oil or olive oil
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
- 6 tablespoons coconut sugar, divided
- ¼ cup pine nuts, ground in a mortar and pestle or chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4-5 medium apples, cored and sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon dairy-free milk
- 1½ teaspoons maple syrup
- Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, mix to combine. Add the oil and start mixing it in with a fork. Slowly stream in the hot water while continuing to mix. Once the dough comes together, knead it with you hands, until you have a smooth, soft dough. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough appears too dry. Take care not to add too much water, giving the flour a chance to absorb the initial amount of water first. Divide the dough in half. Flatten each piece into a round disc, wrap them in plastic wrap or place into a floured bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Line a large baking sheet or two medium baking sheets by covering them with parchment paper.
- Prepare two small bowls. In one bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons of the coconut sugar and the pine nuts. In the other bowl, mix together 3 more tablespoons of coconut sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface, one portion at a time, into ⅛"-thick circular sheets, about 9" in diameter. Place one sheet of dough on the prepared baking sheet, keeping it to one side to make room for the second galette (if you are using two baking sheets, you don't have to worry about this). Leaving a 1-2 inch border, sprinkle the sheet of dough with half of the pine nut and sugar mixture. Arrange half of the sliced apples on top in any pattern you like. Sprinkle the apples with half of the sugar and spice mixture. Fold over the edges of the galette, working circularly, until the galette has a folded border. Repeat this process with the second portion of the dough.
- In a small bowl, mix together the dairy-free milk and maple syrup. Brush this mixture over the folded borders of the galettes. Bake the galettes for 45 minutes, until the dough is golden and the apples are soft and cooked through. Enjoy the apple galettes warm or at room temperature.
Cathy Elton says
I want to make this! What would you suggest as an alternative to pine nuts? Walnuts, almonds or pecans?
Anya says
Hi Cathy,
All of those would work, but I think that walnuts would be especially good. You can also use almond meal/flour if you have it, that’s what a lot of traditional galette recipes use. Hope you enjoy it!
JORDAN DOUGLAS says
This looks phenomenal! It just so happens I have an apple surplus from recent apple picking so will be giving this a try. Any thoughts on a gluten free version?
Anya says
Hi Jordan,
Thanks so much! We don’t have a gluten-free galette recipe, but this one looks great (if you eat eggs): https://www.jennikayne.com/ripandtan/baking-with-canelle-et-vanilles-aran-goyoaga.
Anya says
Sorry, wrong link! Meant this one: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/gluten-free-buckwheat-galette-from-cannelle-et-vanille-s-aran-goyoaga
JORDAN DOUGLAS says
No worries – they both look great! Thank you!
Geoffrey says
Turned out nicely for me; I notice the recipe calls for peeled but the pictures show unpeeled apples — do you make it both ways?
I use a mix of pecans and walnuts because we are out of pine nuts, it was fine.
Anya says
Hi Geoffrey,
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for pointing out that mistake, you don’t have to peel the apples. Corrected the recipe.