Pastry for Pakistan Pay-What-You-Feel Fundraiser

Months after torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan killed more than 1,700, destroyed over two million homes and left a third of the country under water, millions remain homeless. Schools, roads, hospitals—and lives—will need to be rebuilt.

This all happened despite our very low carbon footprint. Loss and damage needs to be part of the core agenda of COP27.

— Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan

Because the holidays are here and many people find pastry intimidating, I thought it would make a good topic for another Cook for a Cause, pay-what-you-feel fundraiser. In this Zoom workshop, side-by-side, we’ll make simple pastry and use it to bake an apple galette.

Date: Thursday, December 8th, 4pm to 5:45 pm Pacific

How to secure a spot in the fundraiser

STEP ONE: Donate directly to any of the organizations below (or another that supports Pakistan). Most of these come from this list compiled by PBS. Any amount secures a spot in the class!

• Aghosh USA
• Humanity & Inclusion
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• International Medical Corps
• Muslim Aid USA
• UNICEF

STEP TWO: Next, email proof of payment to zwc.fundraiser@gmail.com (a screenshot works) and you will receive the top-secret Zoom link for the workshop. Please include the donation amount in your email so I can track the total amount this class raises.

Class materials for one apple galette

Tools

• Dry measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Small liquid measuring cup
• Food processor OR large bowl and pastry blender (I have this one)
• Work surface
• Bench scraper (nice to have but not necessary)
• Two large plates for chilling the pastry
• Rolling pin or empty wine bottle
• 9-inch deep pie dish, 12-inch cast-iron pan or a baking sheet
• Dishtowel
• Optional pastry brush if doing an egg wash (I don’t usually bother with an egg wash)

Ingredients

The ingredients below yield one galette. If you would like to make additional dough to bake with later, bring extra flour, butter or coconut oil, salt, sugar and ice water to the workshop.

For the pastry

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour or pastry flour, plus more for dusting. Pastry flour is more common in Canada than the US. Either works. If you like, use half all-purpose, half whole-wheat.
• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter or coconut oil. Chill this well before class begins. If you choose coconut oil, take it out of the refrigerator a few minutes before class so it can soften slightly. Otherwise it will be rock-hard.
• 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water. You may not need it all.
• ½ teaspoon salt. I usually have coarse salt on hand. Any type is fine.
• ¼ teaspoon sugar. This tiny amount of sugar brings out a lot of flavor. I use granulated.

For the filling

• 5 medium apples. If I still lived in Ontario, Canada, I would use MacIntosh. I buy a variety of apples—Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Fugi, Gala, Gravenstein—and use whatever I find in the fruit bowl.
• Juice of 1 lemon (2 tablespoons). This will prevent the apples from browning and also adds flavor.
• 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar. The apples I use are quite sweet and don’t need much sugar. If you use tart Granny Smith apples, you may want to add more sugar.
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. If you like nutmeg, bring that too. Cardamom is also nice.
• 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil. You’ll dab the top of the fruit before baking.
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. To sprinkle on top.
• 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water for an egg wash (optional). I don’t bother with this but the pastry does look really nice if you brush it with egg wash before baking.