Ingredients
Method
In a liquid measuring cup or a small bowl, combine ½ cup (115 g) water and 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar. Place this in the freezer while you work on the next steps.
In a large bowl, use your fingers or a fork to combine 2¾ cups (345 g) spooned and leveled all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt.
Add 2½ sticks (10 oz./285 g) unsalted butter, cut into ½" (13-mm) cubes, chilled, to the large bowl and use your fingers or a fork to gently toss around the butter to coat it in the flour mixture. Use your fingers to smash and rub the butter into the flour mixture until it forms flat pieces mostly the size of cannellini beans (about ¾"/2 cm) with some smaller (think chickpeas and lentils; about ½" and ¼"/13 mm and 6 mm). The mixture should still look dry and crumbly.
Remove the water-vinegar mixture from the freezer. Drizzle half of the water-vinegar mixture over the flour-butter mixture. Working from the bottom of the bowl up, use your fingers or a fork to gently toss the mixture together, as if you were tossing a salad. Drizzle over another splash of the water-vinegar mixture and toss. Continue to drizzle and toss until a shaggy, chunky mixture forms. It should not be completely combined yet, but there also should be no totally dry areas of flour (look for pebbles of moistened flour, not pure powder). You may not need the full amount of water-vinegar mixture. When in doubt, err on the dry side: You can always add liquid, but you can’t take it away.
Here’s how to know if you’re in a good place: Pick up a handful of the mixture and squish it. It should mostly hold its stuck-together shape; if not, drizzle an additional 1 tsp. water-vinegar mixture on the driest areas and toss again, repeating until it holds together.
Dump the mixture onto a clean work surface and use your hands to pat it together into a rectangular mass about 1" (2.5 cm) thick. If you find any more areas that look totally dry, drizzle them with another 1 tsp. water-vinegar mixture.
Use your hands or a bench scraper to fold the mass of dough over itself. Press down the dough until it’s about 1" (2.5 cm) thick again. (The dough shouldn’t be moist or sticky, but if so, sprinkle it with a bit of flour as you fold.) Repeat folding and pressing down the dough two or three times. As you fold the dough over itself, the shaggy mass will form into a cohesive dough (this is also going to help the crust bake off extra-flaky). The butter should not blend all the way in, and the surface of the dough should look like marble or wood grain.
Place the entire slab of dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough in the plastic, then press it into a round or rectangle about ¾" (2 cm) thick. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days. (Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.)
NOTE: Shaping your dough into the approximate shape of your galette (round, rectangular, etc.) will be helpful when rolling it out, but it’s not imperative to achieve success. In fact, I typically shape my dough into squares for easy stacking in the freezer.
Heat 2½ cups (575 g) whole milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until it starts to steam and bubble at the edges, 5–7 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup (100 g) sugar, 6 Tbsp. (45 g) cornstarch, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Whisk in 8 large egg yolks until very smooth. Set up a large bowl of ice and water for an ice bath.
Whisking constantly, very slowly pour about 1 cup (230 g) of the hot milk into the sugar mixture until the mixture is completely smooth (add it too fast and you’ll risk scrambling the eggs). Pour the sugar-milk mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan.
Return the saucepan to medium-low heat and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of very thick pudding, 4–5 minutes. It will seem like nothing is happening at first, then thicken—continue to cook until it is thick enough to drag a spatula through the mixture and cleanly see the bottom of the pot as the mixture very slowly fills the gap. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape into a clean medium bowl set in the ice bath. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is completely chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Remove the rested 1 XL disk A Good Crust from the refrigerator and let it sit out for 5 minutes (this allows the dough to soften slightly, making it easier to roll out, without getting too warm). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Dust a work surface lightly with all-purpose flour.
Unwrap and cut disk into 8 equal portions (about 95 g each). Use your hands and the work surface to shape the pieces into round disks. Sprinkle one piece of dough with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out, flipping and turning the dough and adding more flour as needed to avoid sticking, into a round about 7" (18 cm) in diameter and ⅛" (3 mm) thick. If at any point the dough starts to crack, press it together with your fingers.
Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. If the kitchen is warm, transfer each rolled-out round to a large plate or sheet pan (it’s okay to stack them) and set in the refrigerator while you finish rolling out the rest.
Remove the chilled milk mixture from the refrigerator and use a fork or whisk to stir until smooth. Fold in scant 1 cup (225 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese, ⅓ cup (55 g) chopped candied orange peel, and 1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier (or 1 tsp. orange blossom water plus 1 tsp. honey) until combined.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place one dough round on the lined pan. Spoon a heaping ⅓ cup (100 g) of the ricotta cream into the center, leaving at least a 2" (5-cm) border. Brush the border around the filling with some 1 large egg, beaten. Fold and pleat the edges of the crust toward the center, pressing gently to adhere, making sure to overlap the crust and almost entirely cover the filling (it will spread as it bakes). Repeat with the remaining 7 dough rounds (snack on any leftover filling). Freeze the galettes on the sheet pan for 15 minutes.
Line a second sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove the galettes from the freezer and carefully transfer half the galettes to the second pan, spacing apart evenly. In both pans, brush more egg wash over the exposed crusts. Sprinkle more sugar over each galette.
Bake until the crusts are deeply golden brown and the filling is set and starting to take on color in spots, 40–50 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheet pans front to back halfway through. If any of the edges unfold during the first half of baking, you can use a butter knife to gently refold them when rotating the pans.
Remove the galettes from the oven and cool, uncovered, for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Sprinkle the center of each with ¼ cup (45 g) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate or mini chocolate chips and ¼ cup (30 g) finely chopped salted roasted pistachios before serving.
Do Ahead: Best eaten day of. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for 24 hours.