Adjarian Khachapuri Recipes

ADJARIAN KHACHAPURI RECIPE - ACHARULI KHACHAPURI

Steps:

• in a mixing bowl combine flour, yeast and sugar. Add water, milk and melted butter and start kneading the dough (you can do it also by hand), when dough is formed add salt and knead 6-8 minutes. Transfer the dough into oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour. Make the cheese mixture: in a medium bowl put mozzarella, feta cheese and 2 eggs. Mix well. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 4-6 equal pieces (depends on the size you want). Shape into balls and cover for 20-30 minutes more.Preheat oven to 430F (220C). Roll each dough into 1/8-inch (1/3cm) thick. Shape a boat from the dough and transfer to a parchment paper. Spread equal portions of cheese mixture. Or make the boat in other method: spread the cheese mixture over the rolled dough, close the dough completely by pinching in the middle to close the dough. Flip the khachapuri and cut in the middle with a knife. Open with your fingers. Bake for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes put an egg yolk with a little of egg white (not a whole egg) in the middle, brush the crust with melted butter and bake 2-3 minutes more. When the khachapuri is ready you can add 1 cube of butter to the middle, mix it with piece of crust and eat it this way.Notes:Traditionally khachapuri made with suluguni cheese. If you can find it, use this cheese. mozzarella is a good substitute.

GEORGIAN CHEESE AND EGG BREAD (ADJARULI KHACHAPURI)

Steps:

• For the dough: Lightly oil a medium bowl. Heat the milk with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over low heat to between 110 and 115 degrees F. Transfer it to a small bowl and stir in the sugar, then sprinkle over the yeast and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (Cover the bowl if the room or the yeast is cold.)
• Put a pizza stone on the lowest rack in your oven, removing the second rack if there is one. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Cut two 10-by-7-inch pieces of parchment paper.
• Put the flour in a medium bowl and whisk in the salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeasty mixture and the oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated and the mixture forms a shaggy ball -- it will be soft and sticky. Flour your work surface, scrape the dough onto it and knead until smooth, elastic and still slightly sticky, about 5 minutes. Put the dough in the oiled bowl, turn it to coat with oil and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• For the filling and topping: Work the mozzarella and feta together with a fork in a medium bowl. Make a little well in the center and add 1 egg. Beat the egg a bit with a fork, and mix and mash well to combine with the cheeses.
• Lightly flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and cut it in half. Round the halves gently back into rough rounds. Put 1 piece of parchment paper on your work surface and flour it lightly. Press and use a rolling pin to roll 1 piece of dough into a round 1/8-inch thick and 10-inches across. Slide it onto the paper -- it will hang over the long edges -- and then slide it, paper and all, onto the back of a baking sheet. (Alternatively, use a pizza peel.) Repeat with the other piece of dough, transferring it to the back of a second baking sheet.
• Spoon half of the cheese mixture on the first round, spreading some 1/2-inch from the edge and mounding the rest in the middle (there will be a big mound). Roll the sides up tightly to make a shape like a cheese-filled canoe -- it should be about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. Pinch the ends together and twist to seal tightly. Repeat with the other piece of dough and remaining cheese. Let rest 10 minutes.
• Slide the khachapuris on their papers onto the pizza stone, leaving a few inches of space between them. Bake, turning them 180 degrees after about 8 minutes, until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes total. Crack 1 egg in each khachapuri and continue to bake until the white is just set around the edges, but some of the white and the yolk are still a bit raw, about 3 minutes. Remove to a serving platter, dot each khachapuri with 1 tablespoon butter and stir the eggs into the hot cheese¿they will continue to cook. Serve immediately, tearing off pieces of bread to scoop up the hot, buttery, eggy, gooey cheese.

ADJARIAN KHACHAPURI

Steps:

• Make the dough from flour, milk, water, and yeast, then mix the salt into the dough and grease it with oil. Knead the dough very well, for about 5 minutes. Now, dust your hands with flour, and fold the dough in on itself four times. Leave the dough to rise for 8 hours at room temperature or for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• Divide the dough into two balls, then cover them and let them rise for 90 more minutes.
• When 90 minutes are up, put a pizza stone in the middle oven rack and set the oven to preheat to maximum temperature.
• Grate the cheeses into one bowl, then add as much milk as necessary to get a loose consistency.
• Shape each ball of dough into an oval using just your hands. Fold over the longer sides of the oval, then seal them together at the two narrow ends to get a „boat" shape.
• Transfer the boats to a sheet of baking paper, then pull the folded sides apart to reveal a cavity into which you need to put the cheese mixture.
• An alternative way of shaping Adjaruli khachapuri is to first put the cheese on the outer sides of the dough, then fold the dough over to get a cheese-filled rim, then fill the center of the boat with cheese.
• Place the baking paper with khachapuri on top of the pizza stone and bake 10-12 minutes. However, depending on your oven, the baking can take up to 15 minutes.
• At the 8 minute mark, check the khachapuri, then place one egg in the center of each. Bake for two more minutes.
• Serve hot, with a pat of butter on top.

KHACHAPURI ADJARULI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD BOAT)

Steps:

• Make the dough (but if you're using store-bought, proceed to Step 2): In a small saucepan over low, heat 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 milliliters water until hot but not simmering. Turn off heat. In a large bowl, with your hands or a wooden spoon, stir together flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Check the temperature of reserved, warmed water; it should be warm to the touch, between 105 and 110 degrees. Add it to the flour mixture and, with your hands, knead mixture into a smooth dough, about 5 minutes.
• Pour olive oil into a medium bowl. Holding dough with one hand, use it to coat the inside of the bowl with the oil. Set the dough in the bowl, oiled portion facing up. Cover bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees (or 425, if using a convection oven). Line a half sheet tray with parchment paper; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, stretch and roll dough into a circle, 1/4-inch thick, 10 to 12 inches across. Brush off excess flour, then lay the dough on the sheet tray. Using your fingers, roll, press and pinch two opposite sides of the circle a few inches into the center, building sides up, then press and pinch the narrow ends together to form two points. Continue to pinch and press the sides to create a raised rim and form the dough into an oval boat with an eye-like shape. Let rest in a warm place while you prepare the filling.
• In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella, goat cheese and feta with 3 tablespoons water. Stir with a fork until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Scrape the cheese mixture into the center of the dough boat, spreading it into an even layer.
• Bake khachapuri until the crust begins to brown and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, leaving oven on. Brush sides of khachapuri generously with melted butter. Return khachapuri to the oven for an additional 5 minutes until the crust is extra crisp and the cheese just starts to brown around the edges.
• Using a spoon, make a shallow, 2-inch-wide well in the center of the cheese. Add the egg yolk and cold butter (if using), and serve immediately. To serve, hold down one pointed end of the hot khachapuri with a fork; using another fork, quickly stir the egg and butter (if using) into the cheese mixture until it's smooth and stretchy. Rip pieces of the bread boat off to dip in the cheese while it's still hot.