Plum Apricot Sourdough Galette

As you all know, where there is a sourdough starter, there is sourdough discard! For someone like me, a firm believer of zero waste, binning perfectly usable sourdough starter discard is just not an option. 

So, I try to sneak it in delicious things like banana cinnamon pancakes, crackers, waffles, and oatmeal walnut cookies.

Lately, I had been hoping to try my hand on a sourdough pie. With stone fruits bidding adieu for the year, I also wanted to celebrate their colors, flavors, and textures one last time. 

You see where I’m going with this. Right? 

When the discard jar got a bit too full, I made a plum apricot sourdough galette – beautifully rich from the colors of baked plums and apricots, all tango-ing with the light sweetness of fresh dates.

Why add sourdough starter discard in a pie crust?

It’s acidic, and mixed with the gluten in your flour, it creates the tenderest pastry ever. 

Sourdough starter also has natural yeast. So, when you bake a sourdough pastry, it rises a tad to give you that flaky crust we all love. 

While you don’t get the tangy jab of sourdough, the flavor profile of the pie crust becomes more profound and more satisfying because of the discard.

Of all the countless pies I have baked for my family and clients, the plum apricot sourdough galette had the best crust hands down.

As long as I have sourdough starter discard, it will remain my go-to ingredient for pastry and pie crusts!

How to Make Plum Apricot Sourdough Galette?

I know making pies from scratch sounds intimidating. Believe me, it’s not, especially with galettes. You don’t have to fuss over kneading, rolling, or folding. That’s why they are called “the lazy person’s pie.” 

Add in sourdough starter discard, and it becomes even easier. And the little bit of effort that the galette does require is entirely worth it after you take the first bite. Scratch that. After you get the first whiff of the baking plum apricot sourdough galette.

How to make the pie crust?

Flour, a tad bit of sugar, ice-cold water, and chilled butter - you mix these four ingredients to make a pie crust. But for the plum apricot sourdough galette, we’ll replace the water with sourdough discard.

Rub the chilled salted butter into the flour using your fingertips till you get a coarse breadcrumb-like texture. Don’t worry if you can see lumps of butter. That’s perfectly fine. These pockets of fat make the pastry flakier. 

Now add in very cold sourdough starter discard and with your hands bring the dough together. You don’t have to knead, simply pull everything, and you’ll get a clumpy dough.

I added a spoon of ice-cold water right at the end to bind everything together.

Flatten the dough a bit using your palms, cover it in cling wrap and slide it in the fridge. 

Pointers for a great pie crust:

If you want buttery, flaky, and delicate pastry, make sure the butter and the discard are cold. 

Work quickly to make the dough, especially if you’re someplace as hot as here. The heat from your hands will transfer to the butter and melt it. And you don’t want that happening. So, no Instagram or quick call breaks. 

Besides being deft, you also need to let the dough rest in the fridge till it is firm. How long? That depends upon how hot it is where you are! 

I used a 100% hydration starter discard, meaning my starter is fed with equal weights of water and flour. If your starter uses a different recipe, you may need to adjust the discard amount.

How to make plum apricot filling?

While the dough is chilling in the fridge, toss sliced plums and apricots in corn flour. Then let them macerate in raw sugar for a few minutes.

So, I also added a few fresh dates, but this is entirely an option. I was as excited as a little kid with candy because till now I’d only ever used dried dates, never the fresh versions.

The fresh ones are delicious, mildly sweet and crunchy....its hard to stop eating them!

Baking the plum apricot sourdough galette

Once the dough is firm enough, take it out and roll it. My shapes are far from perfection. I begin with the hope of a precise circle and end up with an oval. 

But that’s the beauty of galettes. You don’t have to worry about winning any prizes with the crust shape. 

My trick to stop the pastry bottom from getting soggy is to sprinkle some almond meal on the base. As the galette bakes, the almond meal soaks in the fruit juices instead of running into the crust. And its amazing nutty flavor is the icing on the top!

Arrange the plums, apricots, and dates, leaving about a couple of inches of border all around. Fold the edges over the fruits and brush it with cream. Sprinkle some black and white sesame seeds on the edges and finally top it off with raw sugar.

I made a fairly large galette, about 9 inches, so it took 45 or so minutes to bake. If you’re making smaller galettes, then keep an eye out. When the fruit juices are bubbling, and the crust is golden-brown, the galette is ready!

Serving the plum apricot sourdough galette

Let the juices cool and settle down, then serve the sourdough galette.

We enjoyed it with ice cream, and as is. The plums were a naturally tart counterpoint to the sweetness of apricots and fresh dates, creating the perfect summer galette. 

The crust was a dream. It was flaky. It was tender. It was buttery. And it had just the right amount of crispness to hold its shape when served.

Variations of the recipe:

• If you’re not a fan of tart flavors, adjust the amount of sugar in the galette.
• If you don’t have sourdough starter discard, use ice-cold water or thick, plain yogurt. 
• If you want a gluten-free recipe, use my plum galette as a reference. 
• For a vegan galette, my lavender peach recipe is best. 

If you don’t have plums or apricots, any seasonal fruit will do – think peaches or apples. And in case your heart is set on a savory galette like sweet potato and carrot, just omit the sugar!

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