Blackberry Galette with Flaky Goat Cheese Pastry

Directions

1. First make the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to mix.
2. Cut the butter in 3/4-inch cubes and scatter them over the flour. Pulse until butter pieces range in size from very coarse breadcrumbs to hazelnuts.
3. Crumble or break the 4 ounces of goat cheese into teaspoon size chunks and add them to the processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like crumbs—it should not come together into a dough or look cohesive at all, but it should stick together when you pinch it.
4. Pour the mixture into a plastic bag and press it very firmly into a compact ball, don’t worry if you notice unblended bits of butter or cheese; this is correct. Twist the top of the plastic bag and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours and up to three days before using.
5. Not, fill and the bake galettes. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap and cut it in half, and let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes until just still firm, but pliable enough to roll; it should not be soft or squishy.
7. Set one piece of dough on a flour-dusted surface and press it into a thick patty. Sprinkle it with flour and roll it into an 11-inch circle 1/8-inch thick, sprinkling dough and rolling pin as necessary to prevent sticking. As you work, slide the dough around and/or slip a metal spatula under it frequently, and sprinkle with more flour, as necessary to avoid sticking. Don’t bother to trim the circle; uneven edges are part of the charm here. You don’t have to patch the edges if they tear a little, but do patch any breaks or tears in the center of the dough, using bits from the edge, to prevent juices from leaking.
8. Roll the pastry up around the rolling pin and unroll it on a sheet of parchment—or slip a flexible cutting mat or baking sheet under it to transfer. Brush off excess flour if necessary— and set aside.
9. Repeat with the second piece of dough, transferring it to another piece of parchment.
10. Distribute half of the berries over the center of each circle, leaving a 3-inch border. There will space between berries. Sprinkle the berries on each pastry with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. If you like, break the optional goat cheese into small pieces and divide and distribute them over and between the berries on each galette. Cut the butter into slivers and distribute them over the berries. Trying not to tear or break the pastry (or juices will leak out), fold the edges up and over some of the berries, letting the pastry pleat it as you go.
11. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to moisten all of the exposed pastry around each galette and sprinkle each with half (1 1/2 teaspoons) of the remaining sugar. Trim parchments so that both galettes will fit—with their parchment—onto one baking sheet.
12. Bake galettes until pastry is golden to deep golden brown and very deeply colored around the bottom and underneath (you can lift the parchment slightly and peer through it underneath), 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Juices will be bubbling and may seem thin; they will thicken as the galettes cool. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Serve once cooled.