Raspberry-Blueberry Galette

I was going to skip this TuesdaysWithDorie baking “assignment” – it’s a berry galette and I just did an apricot-plum galette with the Avid Bakers group. But then I realized how much fun it would be to compare the recipes and I was hooked.

The Abby Dodge dough is a simple flour, sugar and salt combination, held together by butter and ice water.  A small amount of lemon zest and juice were the only ingredients out of the ordinary.  By contrast, the Baking with Julia galette dough recipe by Flo Braker, one of my favorite bakers, uses cornmeal in addition to white flour and adds sour cream to the ice water. 

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My Apricot-Plum Galette Baking Adventure

I love galettes, which are round, filled, free-form pastries.  When I was a kid, I liked coloring books because the figures or shapes in the book always looked “better” than the ones I drew free-hand.  As an adult, I’ve become more comfortable going outside the lines – in baking as well as in other parts of my life.  Galettes allow you to roll and fold as you please.

The Avid Bakers group decided to make Abby Dodge’s Glazed Apricot-Plum Galette this month.  Galettes can be either sweet or savory. This one was sweet and simple.   

The dough was quick to make in a food processor.  

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Blueberry & Cherry Tartlets

When deciding what to contribute to our traditional July 4^th potluck dinner, I decided to go all out.  Inspired by the July Avid Baker’s Challenge, Abby Dodge’s Classic Fruit Tart, I figured that a red-white-and-blue tart would be grand.  Then I couldn’t leave well enough alone and morphed the concept from one large tart to 2-dozen tartlets. 

Despite the storm last weekend and the triple digit temperatures that continue even as I write this, I was determined to follow through with my plan.  Luckily we didn’t lose power in the storm (for which I am grateful beyond words) and I could work in an air-conditioned kitchen. 

This plan and my initial efforts violated at least 3 of my own basic rules:

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