If you’re anything like me, you tend to roll your eyes at food trends. I only made that Tik Tok whipped coffee one time, and mini pancake cereal has never seemed appealing to me. But galettes are having a huge moment this summer, and this savory ricotta galette flavored with fresh oregano is the star of the show!
What is a Galette
Call me uncultured, but I’d actually never heard of a galette before I got super into the foodie side of Instagram. If you’ve been on that app at all since the beginning of summer, you may have seen this easy-to-make pastry on your timeline.
In French cuisine, galette refers to a flat, flaky pastry with a filling inside. It’s that simple. Most of the time, you’ll see sweet galettes, often made with a fruit filling, getting all the attention. But savory galettes are a seriously underrated treat.
What does a ricotta galette taste like?
Imagine fluffy ricotta and savory swiss and mozarella cheeses snuggled by an incredibly flaky crust. This galette is like your favorite white pizza, just much easier to make at home. The oregano really gives this little pie a slightly sweet, earthy flavor.
What’s in the filling?
The filling is simple. You don’t have to cook up anything before hand. No excessive chopping, either. Just prepare the ingredients, mix in a bowl, and ya done! Here’s the rundown of what we’re using:
- Ricotta cheese: One of my favorite cheeses ever. I love it for its light taste and fluffy texture. Use a good quality ricotta. I personally prefer the Galbani brand.
- Swiss cheese: To add a more complex flavor to this pastry, we’re using swiss cheese, as well. Also, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not use pre-shredded swiss cheese. Buy a block and do the shredding yourself.
- Mozzarella cheese: We’re using mozzarella for its meltiness! We want to feel like we’re eating a very rustic pizza. After several tests of this recipe, I found that part-skim mozzarella yielded the best taste. I like the Galbani brand mozzarella, as well. Like our swiss, we’ll be using a block of mozzarella and shredding it ourselves.
- Fresh oregano: For a punch of summery, earthy flavor! We’re only using half a teaspoon (plus a little extra for garnishing), so you won’t have to spend forever chopping it up.
- Seasonings: One-fourth teaspoon of fine sea salt, one-fourth teaspoon of ground black pepper, and one-fourth teaspoon of garlic powder is the perfect formula for flavor here. Be careful not to over-season. The cheeses we’re using already have enough saltiness and flavor. Too much seasoning will make the galette unpleasantly savory.
How to make galette dough
This is another easy one! In fact, it’s one of the easiest crusts you’ll ever make. I actually discovered this dough recipe over at the Rainbow Plant Life blog. The only differences between her crust and my crust is that mine is not vegan, and that I use self-rising yellow cornmeal instead of medium-grind.
You’ll want to make the dough the night before:
- Start with small cubes of very cold unsalted butter. I like to chill my butter in the freezer for about 2-3 hours before use.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles small peas.
- Combine some ice cold water with apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle it over the mixture and begin to gently form and knead the dough.
- Add ice water little by little until the dough comes together. It should be moist and slightly sticky. It should not crumble apart when pulled.
- Make the dough into the shape of a disc, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
How to assemble the galette
Once the dough has had sufficient time to chill in the refrigerator, it’s ready to be rolled out and filled with cheesy goodness. Let it sit on the counter for just a few minutes so it can soften a bit, but not too long, because we want our dough to still be fairy cold.
Make your life easier by rolling the dough out between two large sheets of parchment paper. That way, you can easily transfer the dough to your baking pan. I say this because the very first time I did this, I rolled my dough out on a flat surface, then struggled to lift it from the surface and onto the pan.
Once the dough is rolled out into a nice 12 inch circle, it’s time for the filling. My recipe yields the perfect amount of filling for the galette, so be sure to follow it exactly. Too little and you’ll taste too much crust and not enough cheese; too much and your pastry will be soggy.
Spoon the filling onto the dough, then use a butter knife to spread it evenly, leaving about a 2 inch border around the edge. We want to have enough room to be able to fold the dough around the cheese filling.
Lastly, do an egg wash by brushing the edges of the dough with one lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle extra chopped oregano all over the pastry. Take a tiny pinch of salt and sprinkle it over the galette, as well. Now we’re ready to put our ricotta galette in the oven. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes, and be sure to cover the top of the pastry loosely with aluminum foil half way through baking, to prevent it from browning too much.
A little note about flour…
We’re using 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour for our dough. This amount normally weighs about 150 grams, depending on the brand of flour used.
Because I used White Lily all-purpose flour (it’s not my go-to, but it was the only one I could find at the time), I weighed out 165 grams instead of 150. This is because White Lily’s flour is lighter than others, and they instruct bakers to use two tablespoons more flour for every cup called for in a recipe.
I know, I know, it’s more math than you came here for. But you really only have to worry about this if you’re using White Lily brand all-purpose flour. If you’re using another brand, 150 grams should work just fine. And if you’re not using a digital kitchen scale to measure your flour, be sure to use the scoop and level method.
Why you should make a ricotta galette
Okay, we’ve talked about all the “hows”. Now let’s discuss the “why’s”:
- It is damn delicious! I mean, I would never share anything on this blog that isn’t absolutely amazing, but I could not control myself around this pastry! I made it so many times that my sister actually said to me, “Stop. That’s too much cheese in a week”. She’s right, so I went ahead and froze some slices to enjoy a little later.
- It ain’t delivery, and it ain’t DiGiorno’s either. It’s a super tasty homemade pie that will knock your socks off!
- The smell. It’s heavenly while baking in your oven, and heavenly when it comes out!
I really hope I’ve gotten you pumped enough to try out this ricotta galette! It’s one of my favorite things I’ve made all summer, and I hope it becomes one of your favorites too! If you make it, leave me a comment, or share it on Instagram and tag @samarfromscratch. I love to see your guys’ work!
And while you’re still here, let’s make sure you haven’t missed anything. Have you tried my Cookie Butter Ice Cream? Or my Dulce de Leche Cookie Bars? Make sure you check them out!
Ricotta Galette with Fresh Oregano
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (150g for most brands of AP flours, 165g if using White Lily brand all-purpose flour)
- 1/2 cup (60g) self-rising yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2-4 tablespoons ice cold water plus more as needed
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
For the filling
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup swiss cheese shredded
- 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano plus more for garnishing
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Begin by making the dough. Whisk flour, cornmeal, and salt together in a large bowl, until combined.
- Fill a small bowl with ice-cold water. Add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to another small bowl. Set both aisde.
- Add the cold, solid cubes of butter to the flour-cornmeal mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of small peas. The mixture should slightly resemble coarse meal.
- Mix two tablespoons of the cold water with the apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle over the flour/butter mixture and begin to gently knead and shape the dough. Add small amounts of the ice water (about 1 teaspoon at a time) to the dough, until it comes together without crumbling. It should be moist and slightly sticky.
- Shape the dough into a disc. Cover it with plastic wrap, and let chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add ricotta, swiss, and mozzarella cheese to a medium-sized bowl. Add chopped oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cream the cheeses and the seasonings together, until smooth.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it soften for about 6-10 minutes. Place the dough on a large sheet of parchment paper. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the dough. Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll the dough out to a 12 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough feels warm after rolling, place it in the refrigerator for a little while to cool.
- Transfer the parchment paper with the dough to a lightly greased sheet pan. Discard the other sheet of parchment paper.
- Dollop the cheese mixture on top of the dough. Use a butter knife to spread it evenly, leaving about a 2-inch border at the edges. Then, take the edges of the dough and carefully fold it over the filling. In a small bowl, lightly whisk an egg. Brush the dough with the egg.
- Sprinkle the galette with extra oregano and a very small amount of salt. Bake for about 20 minutes, then loosely cover the top of the pastry with aluminum foil, to prevent over-browning.
- Bake for another 20-25 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the cheese isn't burning or over-cooking.
- Once finished, remove from the oven and let the galette cool slightly before slicing into it. Serve warm, as an appetizer or side dish.
Notes
- For best results, chill the dough overnight. If you don’t have that much time, let it sit in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. This is definitely a dough that you’ll want to make ahead of time.
- The filling may seem like a small amount, but it is the perfect portion. Do not use any more or less of the filling.
- Cover leftovers and store at room temperature, or in the fridge. You can keep slices in the freezer for about 2-3 weeks.
- If using a digital kitchen scale, measure out 150 grams of all-purpose flour for the dough. If you are using White Lily brand AP flour, measure out 165 grams.
- Cutting the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter takes some elbow grease. If you want, you can use a food processor to pulse the butter and flour mixture together.
- Dough recipe adapted from the Rainbow Plant Life blog.
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