Peach Crostata (or Galette)

They called to me from their nesting spot in Albert Cuyp Market, beside mounds of strawberries and blueberries, above fragrant melons, and an aisle removed from the prized white asparagus. Well, I thought, summer is here, and here are perfect peaches. Thus, bag in hand, my day changed course. With my puppy, Boo, in the front basket and the peaches in the rear, I pedaled home contemplating exactly how I wanted to enjoy them. I decided on a crostata—or what some folks call a galette. Rustic and homey, a crostada would be a marvelous way to test my flours and see if zeeuwse bloem is the right one for pastries. Now, having inhaled a large wedge of peach crostata, I can attest it is. Maybe I will forget dinner and just have another wedge!

Peach Crostata
Makes one 8” round

Dough
1½ cups all-purpose or pastry flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup cold butter
¼ cup Crisco
¼ cup ice water

Peach filling
7 peaches
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
juice from ½ a lemon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Make the dough at least an hour before baking. Sift flour, salt, and sugar into a small bowl. Cut in the butter and Crisco with a pastry blender until the dough resembles cornmeal. This has a high fat content, so it will be crumbly. Add three-fourths of the ice water and mix with a fork to form a ball. Add additional water as needed but only enough for the dough to hold together. Use the palm of your hand to smear the dough a few times in the bowl to further blend in butter. Do not overmix.

2. Tear off about 18 inches of waxed paper. Place dough on the bottom half and fold the remaining paper over the dough. Flatten it out into a disk and tuck under excess paper to seal. Place on a shelf in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to six hours.

3. A half hour before baking the crostata, preheat oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in the peaches and let water return to a boil. After 30 seconds of boiling, drain peaches under cold water. Now they are easy to peel.

4. In a bowl large enough to hold the peaches, combine sugar, flour, ginger, and salt. Peel the peaches, remove the pit (there are no freestone peaches here, so I simply section the peaches in quarters by cutting around the pit). Thinly slice peaches, add to bowl and squeeze the fresh lemon over the peaches. Toss and let sit about 10 minutes.

5. Tear off approximately 18-inch lengths of both parchment paper and heavy-duty tin foil. Place the tin foil on a large pizza pan, then the parchment on top of the tin foil. Roll out the dough into a disk measuring approximately 12 inches between two pieces of wax paper. Carefully remove the top piece of wax paper and flip the dough into the center of the parchment paper. Carefully remove the wax paper. Mound fruit in center of the dough, quickly fold the edges over the top to create a pouch. Sprinkle fruit and dough with sugar and top fruit with small pieces of butter.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes until brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the edges to release from the parchment. Don’t worry if the fruit has leaked and looks like a mess. Let rest for 10 minutes. The beauty of my parchment and tin foil method is the ease in which you can gently pick this up, discard the tinfoil and position the parchment so as to be able to slide the crostata, using a spatula, onto a plate and stage it to look pretty.