The Easiest Apple Galette with a Flaky Homemade Crust

If you're a fan of easy apple desserts, this one is for you. We're making an apple galette. It's basically an open-faced pie, but it's so simple. You don't even have to peel the apples. And I'm totally craving an apple galette, so let's get started. In a large mixing bowl, add your flour. Make sure to spoon and level it so that you don't pack in too much. Also add sugar and salt. Oh, I caught it. Now for the secret to an ultra flaky crust, cold butter. You need one stick or eight tablespoons of unsalted butter. Has to be ice cold straight from the fridge. Dice it up so it's easier to work into the flour. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour. You're looking for pea-sized crumbs. Do not overwork it. Those little cold pockets of butter melt in the hot oven to create steam, and that steam is what causes the dough to puff up with those beautiful flaky layers. And yes, you can totally make this dough with a food processor. Next, drizzle in your ice water. I start with five tablespoons, and then you can add more if needed. Always use ice water so the butter stays chilled, and toss everything together with a fork until the mixture starts clumping together. You'll know when you've added enough water by doing the pinch test. Grab a small handful of the dough and squeeze. If it holds together nicely without crumbling or feeling sticky, then you have the perfect hydration. If it's too powdery, you can add a teaspoon of ice water at a time. Transfer that shaggy dough onto your work surface and gently gather it together, then press it into a flat disk. Notice I'm not kneading this. We wanna handle it as little as possible so that the heat from our hands doesn't melt that butter. Wrap that disk tightly in plastic wrap and pop it in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to three days. Chilling relaxes the gluten and firms the butter back up so it rolls smoothly. While your dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap your dough and place it directly onto a sheet of parchment paper. Dusting the top of the dough with flour will make it much easier to roll out. Roll it from the center outward into roughly a 12 to 13-inch circle. Don't worry if the edges looked cracked or uneven. Galettes are meant to be beautifully rustic. Slide the parchment onto a rimmed baking sheet and return it to the fridge while you prep the fruit. Keeping the dough chilled right until baking prevents the butter from seeping out in the oven. For the apples, you'll need about 1 1⁄4 pounds, around three to four medium apples. Sturdy baking apples like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Gala work best because they hold their shape and won't turn to mush. Core and slice them into thin 1⁄8-inch slices, and the best part, you don't even have to peel them. The red skins give the finished galette the most gorgeous bakery-style color. In a small bowl, stir together your sugar, cinnamon, and salt. This will help soften the apples and draw out the juice to create an incredible caramel syrup. Bring your cold dough back and arrange your apple slices in overlapping fanned rows in the center. Make sure to leave about a two-inch border all the way around. It'll seem like a lot of apples, but they do shrink down a little bit as they bake. Now spoon all of that cinnamon sugar evenly over the apples. Using the parchment paper to help you, gently fold the dough edges up over the apples. Make sure to pleat and pinch the overlapping crust as you work your way around. It doesn't have to look perfect, but if you do notice any holes forming, try to pinch those shut. That'll keep the apple juices from flowing out. Beat one egg with a fork and brush it generously over the pleated crust. This'll give you a glossy, deep golden finish. I also like to sprinkle some coarse sugar around the edges for that signature bakery crunch. Finally, dot two tablespoons of diced cold butter right over the exposed apples, and as the butter melts into the cinnamon sugar, it creates an irresistible, rich glaze. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit on the center rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden brown and the apples are tender with a lightly caramelized edge. Let it cool on the pan for 15 to 20 minutes so the fruit juices settle before slicing. All right, it's been cooling for about 15, 20 minutes, and I cannot wait anymore. My kitchen smells so good. It's time for a taste test. So I'm just going to transfer that. And you can cut it with a knife, but I find it easier to just use a pizza cutter and slice it into wedges. Here we go. And listen to the crust crunch. It's the best. Okay, here we go. Big slice for me, and look at that. I love that the apples are glossy and so tender, perfectly cooked, and it bakes a lot faster than a regular apple pie, by the way. All right, and I am going to serve this up. It really doesn't need anything on top, but if you really want to make it extra special, you can add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and that's what we're going to do because we like it a little extra. Ooh, that first scoop is literally the best. Can you tell I love ice cream? And if you put it over a warm slice of apple galette, it kind of melts onto it, and it's just, ooh, irresistible. Okay, that melting action starting right there. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And what I love about this is the crust is just as good as the filling. A lot of times with store-bought desserts, I'll pick off the crust because I know it's gross. Not so when it's homemade. This is just irresistibly good. You guys are going to love every bite. Okay, we're going to dive into this taste test and get a little bit of everything. Tender cinnamon apples, that flaky, buttery crust, and a little bit of ice cream, here we go. It's so good. It literally tastes like apple pie, but so much easier to make. And if you use a crisp tart apple, it's a really nice combination of sweet and tangy. That cinnamon sugar on top of those apples just makes every bite so good. And to guarantee that this is truly delicious, we have a special guest star, our taste tester. Come on over here. Here you go. This looks so good. She's going through every layer, just like mom. What do you think? It tastes just like fall. Just like fall. Thank you. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay. I think you guys are going to totally love this recipe. The beauty of it is once you have that crust down, you can fill it with all kinds of different fruit. Let me know what you guys try next. And let me know where you guys spotted sharky in the video. And if you have any recipe requests, I would love to hear from you in the comments. And we'll see you on the next episode of Natasha's Kitchen. Okay, now I need a slice.