Grilled Galettes Are the Ultimate Summer Baking Project
Give your oven the night off — tonight's dessert will be made al fresco.
On the hottest days of summer, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. My air conditioner has enough trouble cooling off my apartment as it is! Throw in a preheated 350-degree oven, followed by a 45-minute bake time, and I will be living in a sauna.
That is just one reason my ideal summer cooking scenario involves a grill, with an ice-cold drink in hand. From burgers, steaks and hot dogs to pizzas, wings and vegetables, I will take just about any excuse to fire up the grill. So when I saw that Zac Young's Grilled Peach Galette class involved baking outdoors, I knew I had to tune in.
During his live outdoor cooking class, the pastry pro teaches us how to set up a grill for baking galettes and pies. (Hint: Indirect heat is your friend here.) While Zac uses a charcoal grill for his galette, he covers all his bases by walking us through setting up a gas grill as well. Then, he wraps a cooling rack in aluminum foil to create another layer of indirect heat for the freeform pie. This step also allows you to avoid putting the pie directly onto the grill grates and having to deal with a (literal) hot mess.
Overall, the whole process is easy enough to attempt on a weeknight AND you get to stay outside the entire time — talk about a win-win. Zac also shares his tips for whipping up the flakiest crust and working with in-season fruit for the filling. Once your galette hits the grill, you have 45 minutes to enjoy the great outdoors, preferably with a glass of wine, while being enveloped by the buttery aroma of pastry. Sigh, the dream.
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