It's called a galette. This seldom-seen dessert is defined in Wikipedia as a flat round cake of pastry or bread. The crust usually holds apple slices or berries. The point of this dessert? It's meant to appease those that like pie, but who would rather have more fruit than crust.

It was when reading an issue of Cook's Country that I first discovered this lovely treat. In case you aren't well acquainted with this dessert either, here are the HOW-TOs from the Cook's Country chefs:

These chefs decided to make a rectangular galette rather than round, and they wanted their crust recipe "to have the buttery flakiness of a croissant, with the strength to support a generous layer of apples." To achieve this they blended butter into the dough using the French fraisage method (which creates lots of flaky layers).

Their galette crust recipe calls for *instant flour (more on that later), but the article explained that if you don't have instant flour on hand, you can make a nice substitute by blending 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (although you might have to increase the amount of ice water the recipe calls for).

Although any apple will work in this recipe, the Cook's Country chefs preferred using Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Empire. The apples need to be peeled and cored, but if you don't have an apple corer, you can halve the peeled apples and then use a melon baller or paring knife to remove the core from each half. And one thing the article stressed: Make sure to cut the apples as thinly as possible. If they are cut thicker than 1/8 inch, they will be hard to "shingle." (The above photos are a good visual explanation of what shingling is-the way the slices are layered into the crust.)

Another tip in the article was about chilling the dough: If you need to chill the dough longer than 1 hour, let it stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes to soften. If the dough becomes soft and sticky while being rolled, transfer it to a baking sheet and refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes.

And when baking, check the bottom of the galette halfway through-it should be a light golden brown. If it is darker, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Serve with vanilla ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream, or a combination of whipped cream and cream cheese.

Since reading this article, I gave this idea try. Instead of using their dough recipe, however, I used my favorite pie crust recipe (which is VERY flaky). It was a good substitute, so you might want to consider doing the same if you don't have the time or inclination to mess with this business of "fraisaging" your dough. The main thing I was after was the beautiful presentation as well as creating a pie-type dessert that was mostly fruit. My first attempt was successful and I hope you'll give this idea a try. (Let me know if you do-I'd love to hear how it goes for you.) Meanwhile, here's the Cook's Country recipe and HOW-TO instructions for their Apple Galette. I renamed it Fresh Fruit Galette in case you want to try peaches, pears, etc.

FRESH FRUIT GALETTE (serves 8 to 10)

Dough

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Wondra® or Pillsbury Shake & Blend® flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 5/8-inch cubes

7-9 tablespoons ice water

Apple Filling

1 1/2 pounds apples (3-4 medium or 4-5 small), see note above

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1 tablespoon water

CUT IN BUTTER: Combine flours, salt, and sugar in food processor with three 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour, pulse to cut butter into flour until butter pieces are size of large pebbles, about 1/2 inch, about six 1-second pulses.

ADD WATER: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over mixture and pulse once quickly to combine; repeat, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulsing, until dough begins to form small curds that hold together when pinched with fingers (dough should look crumbly and should not form cohesive ball).

FORM MOUND: Empty dough onto work surface and gather into rough rectangular mound about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide.

FRAISAGE and CHILL: Starting at farthest end, use heel of hand to smear small amount of dough against counter, pushing firmly down and away from you, to create separate pile of dough (flattened pieces of dough should look shaggy). Continue process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into rough 12 by 5-inch mound and repeat smearing process. Dough will not have to be smeared as much as first time and should form cohesive ball once entire portion is worked. Form dough into 4-inch square, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold and firm but still malleable, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

CUT APPLES: About 15 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core, and halve apples. Cut apple halves lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

ROLL and TRIM DOUGH: Place dough on floured 16 by 12-inch piece of parchment paper and dust with more flour. Roll dough until it just overhangs all four sides of parchment and is about 1/8 inch thick, dusting top and bottom of dough and rolling pin with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Trim dough so edges are even with parchment paper.

FORM BORDER: Roll up 1 inch of each edge and pinch firmly to create 1/2-inch-thick border. Transfer dough and parchment to rimmed baking sheet.

LAYER APPLES and BAKE: Starting in one corner, "shingle" sliced apples to form even row across bottom of dough, overlapping each slice by about one-half. Continue to layer apples in rows, overlapping each row by half. Dot apples with butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Bake until bottom of tart is deep golden brown and apples have caramelized, 45 to 60 minutes.

GLAZE: While galette is cooking, combine apricot preserves and water in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium power until mixture begins to bubble, about 1 minute. Pass through fine-mesh strainer to remove any large apricot pieces. Brush baked galette with glaze and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise into individual portions; serve.

Now let's talk instant flour. This flour formulation, when mixed with regular all-purpose flour creates a very flaky, tender crust. There are two common brands-Wondra and Pillsbury, known as "Shake and Blend" brands. They both work well in this recipe and can be found near the cornstarch in the baking aisle of most supermarkets.