Origin of Khachapuri
Khachapuri is the national dish of the country (not the state!) of Georgia. Despite its widespread popularity in Georgia and neighboring countries, the exact origins of this delicious recipe remain unknown. Some wonder if it originated with the Romans, perhaps as the recipe that eventually inspired pizza.
What is Khachapuri?
Khachapuri can loosely be thought of as Georgian pizza (or more like pizza’s cousin). It is a type of bread cooked with several different cheeses. The version we made is topped with an egg and a knob of butter. This makes for an extra gooey, creamy, and flavorful filling. You usually eat it by tearing off chunks of bread and dipping it into the center.
Khachapuri adjaruli
There are several variations of khachapuri, depending on the region in Georgia. Here, we made boat-shaped khachapuri, technically known as khachapuri adjaruli. In this version, the dough is supposed to symbolize a boat, the cheese symbolizes the water, and the egg yolk symbolizes the sun. This version is traditionally served to Georgian sailors returning from a long voyage.
Other versions of khachapuri include:
- One that resembles lasagna, made with many layers
- One that resembles the shape of a calzone
- One with dough on the outside and cheese in the middle (resembling a quesadilla)
So feel free to experiment. After you make this recipe, try out some others an let us know what you think! Honestly you can never really go wrong with a recipe that combines cheese, bread, and egg.
Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese & Egg Bread)
Ingredients
Dough
- 3.5 cups bread flour
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp coriander
- 1 packet yeast
Filling
- 1.5 cup shredded low moisture mozzarella
- 1.5 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1.5 cup manchego cheese
- 5 eggs
- Unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Add yeast to a bowl with warm water, warm milk, sugar, and olive oil. Stir together and let sit for 2-3 minutes before adding in the flour and salt. Mix dough together until it homogenous and place it on a surface to knead for about 5 minutes or until elastic (alternatively you can use a stand mixer).
- Place dough ball into an oiled bowl (covered with a damp washtowel) and let proof for 30 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and gently fold it (slightly flatten it and pull the corners into the center, re-forming a ball). Let it proof back in the covered bowl for another 30 minutes.
- Split dough into 4 even pieces and re-form into balls, letting proof for another 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare dough by combining all three cheeses, 1 egg, and the flour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Stretch each dough ball into an oval shape. Now, carefully roll the long corners of the oval toward the center, allowing for space in the middle. Twist the two ends together. Spoon ¼ of the filling into each dough boat.
- Place on two parchment paper-lined baking sheets and bake for 13 minutes. Make an indentation in each filling and crack one egg into each indentation and place back in oven for another 3-4 minutes until egg is cooked.
- Now, remove from oven and add a small knob of butter to each filling and top with parsley. You can also brush the bread crust with some melted butter. To eat, mix together all the filling and tear off bits of bread to dip inside.
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