Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread)
The ultimate comfort food
Kachapuri is a Georgian traditional dish that is part of almost every meal. The hospitality-trend forecaster af&co called it the “dish of the year 2019” and I totally get why: It is the ultimate comfort food. It’s filling, fatty and has a great structure: the Georgians invented the cheese crust. It’s great as part of your dinner, but can also be a good lunch or midnight snack. We’re lucky, because these cheese boats are pretty easy to make :).
This recipe is for a basic Khachapuri, but you can customize by adding fresh herbs or chillies to the filling.
Ingredients (for 2 breads):
400G flour
150mL warm water
150mL warm milk
1tbsp salt
1tsp sugar
7g yeast
3 eggs
500g cheese mix - can be any cheese: I often use Sulgini, Feta and Peyniri, but widely available cheese like Cheddar and Emmentaler work just as well.
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients except the cheese and eggs in a mixer or by hand. Make a big dough ball of it.
Leave the ball covered in a warm place and let it rest for 45 minutes until it doubles in size.
While the dough is rising, beat one egg and cut the cheese into blocks.
When the dough is ready, it’s time to preheat the oven at 220°C.
Cut the ball in two pieces, these will become the two breads.
Use a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine if you don’t have one) to flatten the ball in a rectangle shape. Move the dough over to a baking sheet.
Add two lines of cheese close to the edge of the dough and add a little bit of beaten egg and pepper, like this:
Now fold the sides over the cheese and make a knot at the ends like this:
Fill the middle with cheese too. The bread is ready to go in the oven now. Around 20 minutes at 220°.
After 20 minutes the bread should start to brown. Make a little hole in the middle using a spoon. Put an egg in it and move it back to the oven for about 4 minutes. Key here is that the egg yolk is still very runny when you take it out. The egg will continue to cook in the hot cheese, so it’s better to take it out a little too early than too late.
Serve immediately :), you eat it by breaking pieces of crust off the side and dipping it in the middle.
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