Plant-based Blueberry Galette
10
- Makes8 servings
(Photo: Julie Van Rosendaal)
I’ve always defaulted to an all-butter pastry crust, though occasionally I use half butter and half lard or shortening, as those less-saturated fats are softer, a bit easier to work with, and produce a finer crumb. Lard and shortening blend more easily, coating the particles of flour, which inhibits gluten formation. Butter, on the other hand, is firmer and has some moisture in it, and provides both flavour and flaky layers.
Both the Flora Plant Butter and Becel bricks and sticks were easy to work into the flour, much like blending in butter, and with the Becel bricks and sticks, which are slightly softer, I found I didn’t need quite as much water to bring the pastry together. Once baked, the pastry itself was flaky and light, with a texture more like a butter pastry than one made only with lard or shortening. Again, I did miss the flavour of butter—and the pastry was slightly tougher, didn’t brown quite as well, and was more flat-tasting, even compared to a shortening or lard-based dough (which would also lack butter flavour).—Julie Van Rosendaal
Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Becel Plant-Based Bricks or Sticks, (1 stick) or Flora Plant-based Butter, chilled
1/4 cup cold water
Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, or saskatoon berries, or a combo
1-2 Tbsp Becel Plant-Based Bricks or Sticks, or Flora Plant-based Butter, cut into thin slices or pieces
beaten egg, for brushing (optional, leave out to make completely vegan)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375F.
To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Slice the cold margarine into the flour with a paring knife, or grate it in on the coarse side of a box grater. Blend it in with a fork, pastry blender or your fingers, rubbing the fat into the flour until it’s partially combined, with bigger pieces of fat about the size of a blueberry still remaining.
Add 1/4 cup of cold water and stir with a spatula just until the pastry comes together. Gather into a disk and let rest on the countertop for 20 minutes, or wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
When you’re ready to bake, roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface (or on a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment you can slide onto the baking sheet) into a 12 to 14-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch, add the berries and toss to coat. Pour onto the pastry and spread out, leaving an inch or so around the edge. Fold the edge of the pastry over the berries to contain them, pressing each fold a bit to reinforce it. Drop small pieces of margarine on top of the berries and if you like, beat an egg with a spoonful of water and brush the egg wash over the exposed pastry to give it some shine.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbly, with thickened juices. Cool slightly before serving.
For more plant-based butter recipes:
To read Julie Van Rosendaal’s piece on baking with new plant-based butters click here.