PEAR CHERRY GALETTE

​For the galette dough-
 
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces
⅔ cup ice water (you may  not need all of the ice water)
 
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the sugar, and salt. Using a bench scraper, work the cold butter pieces into the flour until you  have some small pieces of butter and some no larger than a pea. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of ice water over the dough, tossing the mixture with your fingers. Add just enough additional water so the dough is moist enough to stick together. Gather the dough and divide it in half; shape each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out.
 
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one disc of dough into a rectangle, approximately 12” x 14”. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. (If you wish to decorate the galette with cut-outs or braided dough, roll out the second disc of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, into a circle about 12” in diameter. Use cookie cutters or a pie crimper to cut out shapes or strips for a braid. Refrigerate the cut-outs/strips while you prepare the filling. If you are not going to use the second disc of dough, you can freeze it for another time.)
 
For the filling-
        
1 generous cup sweet cherries, stems removed and pitted
2 lbs. ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored, cut into ½” thick slices
(you should have 4 cups of pear slices)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice      
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of the pears
¼ teaspoon cardamom
pinch of salt     
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped with the tip of a knife
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
 
egg wash made from 1 egg yolk blended with 2 tablespoons cream or milk
sanding sugar for sprinkling
 
Peel and core the pears, cut into ½” slices and place in a
large bowl. Add the lemon juice to the pears. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cardamom, salt, cornstarch and vanilla bean seeds. Gently toss the pears with the sugar/spice mixture. In a separate bowl, place the cherries.
 
To Assemble the Galette-
 
Retrieve the rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. Leaving a 2” border, fan the pear slices over the dough, leaving the center open for the cherries. Toss the cherries with the sugar mixture and juices remaining in the bowl from the pears. Spread the cherries over the center of the galette. Sprinkle the fruit with pieces of butter. Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, letting the dough pleat slightly as you lift it. Work your way all around the galette. Brush the edge of the pastry with egg wash. If you are adding decorative cut-outs to the edge, retrieve them from the refrigerator and place them as you wish, being careful not to place them on the filling. Brush with additional egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place the galette on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes before baking to help set the dough.
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
 
Bake the galette on the bottom rack of the pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Move the galette to the middle rack of the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, covering the edges with aluminum foil strips if they are getting too brown. The fruit should be tender and bubble slightly around the edges. Cool the galette on a rack before slicing.