This Huckleberry Galette with Buckwheat Crust is a beautiful way to highlight wild berries in a simple, farm-style dessert. This rustic tart combines juicy huckleberries and bright orange zest with a nutty buckwheat crust. It’s approachable for bakers at any level, and ideal for showing off seasonal ingredients in a dessert that’s both stunning and forgiving.
Why you’ll love it
- Bursting with berries: A galette is the perfect dessert to highlight seasonal berries, allowing them to be the star ingredient.
- Tender, flaky crust: Buckwheat flour adds nutty depth and additional tenderness to the flaky all-butter pie crust.
- Bright citrus lift: Orange zest and juice complement the berries beautifully for balanced sweetness.
- Quick and rustic: No need to make things look perfect in this recipe – galettes are meant to be rustically imperfect.
Recipe overview
⏱️Prep: 20 min • Chill: 1 hr • Bake: 25–30 min • Total: ~1h 50 min
🍴Yield: Serves about 8 people
💪Skill level: Beginner
How to make this huckleberry galette
For full recipe instructions and ingredients, scroll to the recipe card below. Here’s a quick overview of how we’ll make this huckleberry galette:
Make the buckwheat pie crust
- Whisk together the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, and salt.
- Cut in cold cubed butter until pea‑sized pieces remain.
- Add very cold water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the dough just comes together.
- Wrap and chill for 30–60 minutes.
Prepare the huckleberry filling
Gently toss huckleberries with sugar, flour, orange zest & juice, plus a pinch of salt.
Assemble & chill tart
- Roll buckwheat pie dough into a rough 12″×10″ rectangle (or about 13″ circle).
- Spread berry filling over top.
- Fold edges up around berries, pleating as needed.
- Brush the rim with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Chill or freeze for 20–30 min.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C).
- Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool at least 20 min before serving.
Tips for making galettes
Keep pie crust ingredients cold. Cold butter and ice water help to create those beautiful flaky layers. You want to see streaks of butter throughout the dough.
Don’t over-roll. Roll just enough to shape. Overworking the buckwheat crust can make it tough. If the dough starts to spring back and shrink while you’re rolling it, that means the gluten is developing. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then try rolling again.
Prevent a soggy bottom. Sprinkle a mixture of 1 Tbsp flour + 1 Tbsp sugar under the berries to absorb excess juice and keep the crust from getting soggy.
Use an egg wash. Brushing the crust with egg wash is optional, but it does give the galette that golden, professional-looking sheen.
Chill before baking. Putting the galette in the oven cold and firm will help it hold its shape while baking and prevent a floppy, leaky tart.
Let it cool before cutting. This helps the filling set and slice cleanly.
Foraging & using wild huckleberries
If you’re foraging berries yourself, here’s what to consider:
Identification matters. Huckleberries can be confused with other wild berries, some of which are edible, and some of which are not. Know what to look for when identifying wild plants.
Only pick ripe berries. Fully ripe berries are soft, dark red, deep purple, or black, and will detach easily from the bush. Unripe berries will be super tart and not that pleasant to eat!
Don’t overharvest. Wild berries are an important food for wildlife. Leave enough berries for wildlife and only harvest what you will use.
Clean gently. Rinse berries carefully and let them dry fully before using.
Substitute frozen if needed. If fresh wild berries aren’t available, frozen huckleberries will work just fine. Thaw and drain frozen berries before making the filling.
Substitutions and variations
Crust swaps: Use a classic homemade pie crust or brown butter pie crust in place of the buckwheat crust.
Fruit variations: Try this crust and citrus combo with wild (or cultivated) blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. Or, make it a rhubarb galette.
Citrus twist: Substitute lemon or lime zest and juice if you prefer a sharper edge.
Individual servings: Divide into mini galettes for handheld desserts. See instructions for making individual galettes here. This recipe size will make 6-8 small galettes.
Serving and storage
Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. It’s seriously delicious all the ways!
Top if off. A scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream complements the tangy berries perfectly.
Store leftovers properly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat gently. Warm slices in the oven (350 °F) for a few minutes if you want crisp crust again. You can also warm them in a dry, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. I don’t recommend warming anything made with pie dough in a microwave – it ruins the beautiful texture of pie crust!
Freeze for later. Yes, you can freeze galettes! Wrap completely cooled slices tightly in plastic wrap and then foil; they freeze nicely for up to a month and thaw well at room temperature.
If you love galettes as much as I do, be sure to check out my Strawberry Rhubarb Galettes, Heirloom Tomato Galettes, Brown Butter Pecan Galette, and Rhubarb Galette.
Did you make this Huckleberry Galette with Buckwheat Crust? I’d love to hear what you think. Please leave a star rating and review under the recipe card below. Thank you!
Huckleberry Galette with Buckwheat Crust
Ingredients
Buckwheat Crust
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, cold
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup ice cold water
Huckleberry Filling
- 3 1/2 cups huckleberries, cleaned
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- zest of 1 small orange
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- pinch of salt
Optional Egg Wash
- 1 egg, beaten
- coarse sugar
Instructions
For buckwheat pie dough:
- Dice butter into small cubes and keep cold. Prepare ice water and keep cold.
- Whisk together flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter using your fingers or a pastry blender until butter is broken down into pea-sized pieces.
- Add water one tablespoon at a time, slowly incorporating with a fork until mixture starts to form a shaggy mass. Pour onto lightly floured surface and fold gently until it all comes together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
For the huckleberry filling:
- In a large bowl, toss together berries, sugar, flour, orange zest & juice, and salt. I recommend waiting to make the filling until you have the pie dough rolled out and ready to go, as the berries will start to release a lot of juice once they're tossed with the sugar.
To assemble the galette:
- Roll buckwheat pie dough into a rectangle that's roughly 12 inches by 10 inches. Don't worry too much about the shape being perfect; this is supposed to be a rustic tart. Alternatively, you could roll the dough into a 13 inch circle.
- Pour huckleberry filling onto dough. Spread into an even layer, leaving about two inches of space around all the edges.
- Fold dough up around edges, creating a pie dough border. Brush with egg and sprinkle edges with coarse sugar, if desired.
- Freeze galette for 20-30 minutes, until chilled and firm.
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake tart until crust is golden and berry filling is bubbling, about 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm or room temperature on its own, or serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Did you try this recipe?
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