1⅔ cups spelt flour* or all-purpose flour + extra for rolling the crust
¼ cup cornmeal or polenta
1 Tablespoon natural cane sugar or maple sugar
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
14 Tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
⅓ cup ice water (if using all-purpose flour, start with 4 Tbs. water and add as needed)
Filling:
3-4 Tablespoons natural cane sugar or maple sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
4 medium peaches or nectarines, pitted and each cut into 16 slices or apricots cut into quarters
½ pint basket of raspberries or blackberries
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon pure almond extract
½ cup ground almonds, bread crumbs, cookie crumbs, or cooked millet
1 egg, beaten (for brushing on crust)
Instructions
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine first 4 ingredients and pulse to combine. Add cold butter and process just until pea-size pieces form. Start to pour the ice water through the feed tube and turn on the food processor. Blend until dough just comes together. Test this by squeezing a small handful of dough – it should clump together. If doesn’t, add a few more drops of water. Gather dough into a ball. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in parchment paper and chill at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of foil on the lower rack of the oven to catch any drippings.
Gently combine all the filling ingredients (except crumbs and egg) in a medium bowl and set aside.
Dust the countertop and a rolling pin lightly with a little spelt flour and some cornmeal. Unwrap the disk of dough and place the parchment paper on a rimless baking sheet or you can use the underside of a rimmed baking sheet. This will make it easier to remove the crostata later. Roll out the dough to a 14-inch circle on the floured countertop, flipping the dough occasionally to prevent sticking to the countertop and using additional flour as needed. You should always be able to move your dough around the countertop without it sticking. Transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. (I like to fold the pastry in half and then half again and then unfold it on the parchment.)
Sprinkle the dough with the almond meal or cookie crumbs, leaving a 2-inch border uncovered. Pour the fruit and juices onto the the almond meal. Brush the border of the dough with egg. Lift about 2 inches of dough over the tart and pinch closed. Keep lifting and folding dough until a 6-inch circle of fruit remains uncovered. Brush folded border with egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar if desired.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is a beautiful golden brown. Slide the crostata and the parchment to a cooling rack and allow to cool to just warm or room temperature.
Notes
Spelt flour has a lower gluten content than wheat flour, making it more digestible and resulting in a more tender pastry. I buy spelt flour in the bulk section at Whole Foods. In pastry crusts, white flours are much easier to work with and taste better than whole grain flours. If you must, you can sub ⅔ cup whole grain pastry flour for ⅔ of the white spelt flour.
Gluten-free adaptation: substitute 1 cup King Arthur all-purpose gluten-free baking mix + ⅔ cup gluten-free oat flour + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum for the spelt flour. Keep everything else the same.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/stone-fruit-crostata-with-spelt-crust/