A question about a recipe: Fennel and Onion Galette with Gruyere Crust

I have a question about step 2 on the recipe "Fennel and Onion Galette with Gruyere Crust" from starting in december. It says:

"Lightly sprinkle flour on the counter and dump out the dough. Using a bench scraper, push the dough into a 12- by 4-inch rectangle. Using the palm of your hand, push the dough away from yourself. Once you have pushed out all of the dough, repeat the process. After the second round of pushing out, use the bench scraper to form a 4-inch thick round. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour." How long is too long to let the dough rest? Can it rest overnight?

ktcooks
  • Posted by: ktcooks
  • September 30, 2012
  • 1868 views
  • 2 Comments

2 Comments

Reiney September 30, 2012
Pastry doughs are absolutely fine overnight, in fact can be refrigerated (tightly sealed in cling film) up to 2-3 days. After that point they start to break down a bit. They also freeze very well.
 
Quinciferous September 30, 2012
I imagine it would be perfectly fine to leave it in the fridge overnight. I do this sort of thing all the time. You just have to make a few adjustments to get to that magic place where the dough is cold enough so that it's not a gooey mess, but not so cold that it's a cold immobile brick.

You will probably find that the dough is too cold/hard to work with when you first pull it out of the fridge the next day. You can fix this by either setting the dough out at room temperature for a bit longer, or by bashing it a few times with a heavy rolling pin to help knock it into shape. If you find you go too far and it's too soft and warm to work with, pop it into the freezer for a couple of minutes to chill it down again. I often roll out dough on a big sheet of parchment so I can easily move it from counter to freezer and back.

Also, usually if I know I am going to be over-chilling a dough, I shape it into a thinner, wider round to so it's closer to the size I'll eventually need.
 
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