Sourdough Leavened Khachapuri Recipes

SOURDOUGH LEAVENED KHACHAPURI

Steps:

• Dough
• Mix all the dough ingredients in a bowl until they're well incorporated.
• Lightly flour your countertop and removed the dough from the bowl. Knead it for 3-5 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
• Let the dough ferment for several hours until it has almost doubled. The total bulk fermentation time will range from 4-8 hours depending on your room temperature and starter liveliness. Use the dough bubbliness and expansion as your guide.
• I often let the dough rise for several hours and then refrigerate it for one or more days. On the day I plan to bake, I remove the dough bowl from the refrigerator, fold and flip the dough so the wetter base is now the top of the dough, and let it warm up and expand for several hours.
• Filling
• In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses, egg and optional spices (if using).
• Assembly (See the Photo Gallery also)
• Place a pizza stone or large upside down baking sheet in your oven and preheat to 500°F (450°F if a non-stick sheet) for about 30 minutes.
• Flour your countertop and scrape the dough out onto it.
• Divide the dough into four pieces and roll them into balls.
• Cover the balls loosely with a damp tea towel and let the gluten relax for about 15 minutes.
• Prepare four pieces of parchment about 12"x15".
• Re-flour your countertop and roll each ball into an oval that is about 3/8" thick. Transfer each oval of dough to a sheet of parchment paper. You can roll the dough on the parchment if you prefer.
• Lay cheese filling along two opposing edges of the doughs.
• Fold the dough over the cheese filling.
• Pinch and twist the ends of both sides of crust together, making a boat shape with two bread handles on each end. Make sure the edges of the "boat" don't have a low point that a cracked egg would flow out of.
• Divide the filling roughly in fourths and add it to the center of each dough.
• Baking (two at a time)*
• Using a pizza peel or upside down baking sheet, load two khachapuri onto your preheated stone.
• Bake for 12 minutes and then open the oven briefly to crack an egg onto the center of each khachapuri. If you're worried you may get egg shells on the khachapuri, pre-crack your eggs in two small bowls.
• Bake for an additional 2-3 minutes, or longer if you prefer a more done egg.
• Remove from the oven and add a pat of butter to the surface of each khachapuri.
• Repeat with the other two khachapuri.
• *If using a lower oven temp, bake until the cheese is completely melted and there are light brown spots on the dough edges, then add the cracked egg and bake 2-3 more minutes.

KHACHAPURI

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Combine milk and margarine in a 1-quart saucepan; heat over low heat until milk is very warm and margarine is mostly melted, about 5 minutes.
• Beat milk mixture into the flour mixture on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups flour; beat until a soft dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Turn over to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Gently punch down dough to deflate. Let rise until doubled again, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.
• Gently punch down dough and roll into a circular shape. Transfer to the baking pan.
• Mix Muenster cheese, egg, and egg yolk together in a bowl. Spread over dough in the baking pan. Gather up dough in 1 1/2-inch pleats. Squeeze pleats together gently and twist to make a topknot.
• Let dough rest, 10 to 15 minutes. Brush with egg white.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour.

NATURALLY LEAVENED TURKISH POğAçA

Steps:

• Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, and sourdough starter in a medium bowl.
• Add most of the flour, reserving a little in case it's not needed, and add the salt. Mix and knead the dough in the bowl until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add more flour as needed to get a soft but not sticky dough.
• Wash and chop the herbs, and prep (crumble, slice, shred) the cheese you've chosen to use. Then add them as well as the black pepper to the dough by folding and kneading.
• Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature for 4-6 hours. Then refrigerate the dough overnight.
• The next day, prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Flip the cold dough out of the bowl and shape it into a tube, about as thick as a baguette.
• Cut the tube on the diagonal about every 5 cm (2 inches), and place the pieces on the parchment paper smooth side up (as opposed to cut side up).
• Cover and let the dough rest and rise for an hour or longer, until it's puffy.
• Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F).
• Brush the dough with lightly beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame and nigella seeds.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• Combine milk, water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. Add olive oil, 2 cups flour, and salt. Mix until a sticky dough comes together.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 3 minutes, adding in remaining flour as needed, until dough is very soft but still workable. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Combine Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and feta cheeses in a bowl. Toss together and refrigerate until needed.
• Punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Flatten slightly and cut in half. Dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour. Place 1 dough half on top and roll out into a square about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, stretching out the corners as needed. Arrange 1/4 of the cheese in 2 rows, 1 to 2 inches from the longest sides. Roll sides up tightly over the cheese, forming a canoe shape around the dough. Pinch and twist ends to seal.
• Cut off excess parchment around the dough; lift dough onto a baking sheet. Repeat shaping and stuffing the other dough half. Fill the canoe with the remaining cheese mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Form a well in the center of each khachapuri using a spoon; crack an egg inside each well.
• Return to oven and bake until eggs are mostly set, 3 to 4 minutes. Place 2 pats of butter over each filling and sprinkle salt and cayenne on top. Plate khachapuri; tear off one end and use it to stir the butter into the egg.