Bake

Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese and Egg Bread)

by:
February 25, 2017
3.6
5 Ratings
Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese and Egg Bread)
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 3 hours
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Makes 2 large or 4 small breads
Author Notes

A crazy delicious bread made from a soft, buttery dough that's shaped like a boat, stuffed to the brim with melty, tangy cheese and topped with a few runny eggs. Serve it warm, and tear off pieces of the dough from the outside to dip in the center. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the dough
  • 4 1/3 cups (522 g) bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon (9 g) instant active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (4 g) fine sea salt
  • 10 tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (242 g) whole milk, warmed to about 100°F
  • 1/3 cup (81 g) warm water
  • For the filling and finishing
  • 1 1/2 cups goat cheese
  • 2 1/2 cups diced fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
  • 6 large eggs
Directions
  1. Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt to combine. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture looks crumbly, about 1 minute.
  2. Add the milk and water and mix the dough on low speed for 4 minutes. Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough is very smooth, 2-3 minutes more.
  3. Transfer the dough to a large, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the dough is puffed (it may not fully double in size).
  4. Divide the dough as desired: Cut into two even pieces for larger, more share-able khachapuri, or into four even pieces for smaller, individual khachapuri.
  5. Pat the dough into an oval shape with your hands. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough, maintaining the oval shape, into an oblong oval about 1/3-inch thick.
  6. Pick the dough up from the ends and transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently stretch the dough when you transfer it to help elongate the oval a bit.
  7. Crumble the goat cheese evenly over the dough, leaving about 1 inch around the edge on all sides. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the goat cheese.
  8. Working your way around the bread, fold the excess dough up and over the filling to create a little wall and encase it. Gently pinch the ends of the oval to help seal. Cover the breads with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray, and let the bread rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  9. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash.
  10. For small khachapuri, crack an egg on each piece, in the center of the bread. Transfer to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, the cheese is melted and lightly golden, and the egg white is set, but the yolk is still runny, 30 to 35 minutes.
  11. For large khachapuri, transfer the breads to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the breads from the oven and crack three eggs evenly over the center of each bread. Return to the oven and continue to bake for 25 to 30 minutes more, until the bread is golden, the cheese is melted, and the egg white is set but the yolks are still runny.
  12. Let the khachapuri cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving warm.
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  • Rach3190
    Rach3190
  • Sarah Hunton
    Sarah Hunton
  • Moshee
    Moshee
  • Corby
    Corby
Erin Jeanne McDowell
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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6 Reviews

Alison
Alison April 28, 2020
Made this the other night it was really good. I messed up and used traditional yeast instead of instant, thanks to some internet trouble shooting, we made a paste with the same amount of yeast and kneaded it into the dough. It worked great, got rid of the yeast granules from the original batch I added to the dough and surprisingly didn't taste yeasty which is what I was worried about. We did this recipe and the Prosciutto Rosemary one and they were awesome, although I would wait and add the egg later as ours was too cooked.
 
Rach3190
Rach3190 October 26, 2018
I'm making these right now, and am having some structural difficulties. I just peeked at them in the oven, and on every single one (I made the 4 single ones) the egg has slid up/out/off the boat and is just cooking on the baking sheet now. Between the bread baking up and the cheese it just bulged right up in the middle - and I didn't even use as much cheese as called for here as it looked like too much. I thought rolling out 1/3" thick of dough seemed thick, and guess I was right - next time I'll roll out much thinner so it can hopefully accommodate the cheese and an egg.
 
Sarah H.
Sarah H. April 24, 2017
I made the small version of these, but the egg didn't cook correctly (the yolk had more of a hard boiled consistency, and the white was like rubber cement). It the rest of it was great, though. I experimented by doing a cold proof on two, and following the recipe on two.
 
Elizabeth L.
Elizabeth L. January 5, 2018
Traditionally, the egg is cracked onto the finished khachapuri. The residual heat is supposed to be enough to set the white and leave the yolk properly gooey.
 
Moshee
Moshee March 3, 2017
KHACHAPURI!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Corby
Corby February 27, 2017
Thank you! So glad you included directions for both sizes. Now I can stop blowing my pocket money at the LA Farmer's market, or just eat them twice as often. Probably the latter.