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Sourdough-Leavened Khachapuri
Most Americans are probably unfamiliar with khachapuri, but once they see it, they probably think, “Why haven’t I eaten this before?” and “Wow, this must be where stuffed-crust pizza comes from.” At least, that was my thought process when I saw this Georgian dish for the first time.
There are many different varieties of khachapuri, and this boat-shaped version with a cheese-stuffed crust, filled with more cheese, an egg and butter is from the Adjara region of Georgia. Khachapuri has the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia, and is also popular throughout Russia, Armenia and even as far as Israel.
You’ll see in the photos after the recipe, that I filled some of the dough with meat in addition to cheese. I had some leftover lamb, so I found a recipe for a flatbread stuffed with sauteed meat, onions, ground coriander, paprika, and salt — called khubdari or Svanetian khachapuri.
The recipe below focuses on the Adjaruli khachapuri, but I did use the spices from khubdari in the cheese filling too. Georgian imeruli and sulguni cheeses appear to be classic choices for this dish, but I read recipes using ogleshield, raclette and twaróg as well. Recipes geared toward U.S. grocery shoppers tend to combine mozzarella, ricotta and feta to achieve both stretchiness and the desired farmer’s-cheese flavor. (The first time I made this, I used mozzarella, ricotta, and pecorino romano, because I didn’t have feta, and the end result was quite tasty too.)
See the Photo Gallery after the recipe for more process photos
You might notice a green sauce on top of my cheese and egg filling. This is zhoug, originally from Yemen and sometimes referred to as the pesto of the Middle East. I’m a big fan of spiciness combined with cheese, so this sauce immediately came to mind as my first batch of khachapuris were cooling on racks. Zhoug is a spicy blend of cilantro, garlic and chilis — not traditional to khachapuri in any way as far as I know. Usually a pat of butter is placed on the finished, steaming-hot khachapuri. In the recipe below, I list several optional toppings.
FLOUR
I chose a mix of bolted durum flour and all purpose flour for this dough, but other whole wheat, bolted, or refined flours are fine too. If you choose to use only refined flour, you should reduce the amount of water by about 30 grams. Likewise, if you use more bolted or whole grain flour, you may want to increase the water in the recipe. Aim for a hand-kneadable dough and add more water or flour as needed.
SERVING SIZE
This dish is quite filling, so I reduced the size of the khachapuri you see in main recipe photo by about 30%. Of course, you can scale up and down as you like.
Sourdough Leavened Khachapuri
Khachapuri is irresistible, with a perfectly cooked egg in a pool of melted cheese, and surrounded by flavorful bread that's also stuffed with cheese. This dreamy dish is a staple in Georgia and comes in many variations. Try the Adjaruli-inspired version here, or experiment with fillings from different regions of the country or from your own imagination.
Ingredients
Ingredients for 4 khachapuri (approx 210g dough each)
Filling
Topping (select what you prefer)
Baker's Percentage
Instructions
Dough
Filling
Assembly (See the Photo Gallery also)
Baking (two at a time)*
Notes
Note: If you like a very runny egg, remove the khachapuri from the oven after 14 minutes and crack the egg onto the hot cheese. Then let the residual heat cook the egg out of the oven for 2-3 minutes, and add the pat of butter. Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs, shellfish and meat may increase the risk of foodborne illness.
Shopping List
Sourdough-Leavened Khachapuri