I could never make a flaky pie crust as good as my moms! I am sure it was because I was always trying to replace ingredients like lard and refined sugar with healthy alternatives. This galette (which is a rustic, free form pie) however; turned out beautifully and is made with buckwheat flour. Without the fuss of a traditional pastry, this crust is folded gently over the filling which oozes out of the crust slightly as it bakes. I love it topped with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream or coconut whipped cream. You can substitute the filling for whatever berries or fruit are in season. Peaches are divine as are apples and pears in the winter months.
The Crust:
- 3/4 cup of buckwheat flour (I always have buckwheat groats on hand and simply grind them to a fine flour in my vitamix, alternatively you can buy buckwheat flour)
- 1/4 cup of cold coconut oil ( place it in the fridge to harden for 10 min.)
- 4-6 Tbsp. of cold water
- 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
- 1 flax or chia egg (1 tbsp. of ground flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 Tbsp. of water. Let sit 10 min.)
Place the buckwheat flour and the coconut sugar in a medium sized bowl. Cut the cold coconut oil into the buckwheat flour and either blend it into the flour with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture appears crumbly. A pastry blender works best as the heat from your hands will cause the coconut oil to melt. Add the chia egg along with a Tbsp. of water at a time until the dough comes together as you mix it with your hands. It should be fairly stiff but not dry and crumbly. Pat it into a one inch circle with your hands or a rolling pin and then wrap it in plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for one hour.
Prepare the filling.
The Filling:
- 1 lb. of fresh rhubarb (about 2 cups) cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 8 oz. fresh organic strawberries, halved
- 2 Tbsp. of arrowroot powder
- 1/ 3 cup of coconut sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix gently with your hands to make sure that the fruit is coated with all of the ingredients.
Assembly:
Preheat your oven to 400 F.
Remove the chilled crust from the fridge and allow it to sit for 10 min. Roll the crust out on a piece of parchment paper to roughly a 10 inch circle that is about 1/8 of an inch thick. You can use your hands to pat it into an even thickness and also to patch any little tears that happen in the rolling process. You can see the little pieces of cold coconut oil in the photo below that are unmixed into the dough. This contributes to the lightness of the crust.
Once you have a fairly uniform circle, pile the fruit mixture into the middle of the pastry.
With a bench scraper or even a spatula, gently fold the outer edges of the pastry up around the fruit. If the pastry tears a bit as it is folded, simply pinch it back together!
A little bit of leakage is inevitable but the filling thickens as it cooks and will not run far! Before you pop it in the oven, quickly prepare another chia egg (1 Tbsp. ground chia with 3 Tbsp. of water ) and then brush the crust with the mixture.
Bake in your 400 degree F. oven for about 45 min. until the crust is brown and the filling thick and bubbly! Serve with your favourite dairy free ice cream or coconut whipping cream!