In Good FlavorAdjaruli Khachapuri is a bread boat filled with hot bubbling cheese and a runny egg. It is a beloved Georgian comfort dish and total food porn. My take on it also contains broccoli and red pepper flakes for heat.
I’m a sucker for anything with a runny egg. Khachapuri, with its runny yolk and hot oozy cheese served on top of a bed of bread, always has me swooning! This cheese bread has been called the national dish of Georgia. Heck! I think it should be the supreme dish of the world!!
First of all, if you’re not familiar with the geography of Georgia, the country is located in the Caucasus region at the intersection of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. And khachapuri (the K is silent) comes from the word khacho, which means “cheese curd,” and puri, which means “bread”. Variations of the dish exist from one Georgian region to the next, differing in presentation and ingredients. The commonality among them is bread and cheese. Adjaruli (or Adjarian) Khachapuri comes from the Adjara seaside region on the Black Sea. The locale is the inspiration for the canoe-like shape, and the yellow egg yolk symbolizes the sun.
Khachapuri is popular in Georgian restaurants and as street food, not to mention as a made-at-home dish. Commonly served as breakfast or a meal, it could also be shared as an appetizer or a snack. Traditionally, a soft yeast bread is used as the base. Hot molten sulguni, or a combination of sulguni and imeruli cheese, fills the center. It is topped with an egg, which is cooked until the whites are just barely set, and served immediately with a pat of butter.
Traditional khachapuri is made with soft yeast bread dough, but I use store-bought pizza dough for convenience. Since sulguni and imeruli cheeses are not available in this country, many recipes use a combination of mozzarella and feta, which provide similar flavor and melting characteristics as the traditional cheeses. I think it’s a tasty combo! My version also contains chopped onion for slight sweetness and light crunch, as well as broccoli for color…and because I love roasted broccoli. For added flavor and a slight kick, red pepper flakes finish off the khachapuri.
Recipe highlights:
- Divide pizza dough into two equal parts. Keep one covered while working on rolling out the first.
- Roll each into flat ovals approximately 12” x 9”.
- Transfer onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Combine mozzarella, feta, and onion. Spread an equal amount onto each oval.
- Fold in the sides, then pinch and twist the ends to resemble a boat shape.
- Top with broccoli and brush dough with a beaten egg.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Create well in the center, then add an egg. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
- Continue to bake for 5-7 minutes or until the whites are just set.
- Rub the crust with a chunk of butter and place the rest of the butter chunk into the cheese. Serve immediately.
- Refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions and tips.
How to eat khachapuri?
Georgian cheese bread is meant to be eaten by hand. Start by tearing off the tip, then dipping and swirling it into the hot, runny egg and the gooey cheese. Continue to tear or cut chunks of bread and dipping them into the eggy cheese mixture as you eat (but don’t double dip if you’re sharing!!).
Can I make cheese substitutions?
The cheese combo provided in this recipe is delicious, but feel free to experiment. Add a third cheese, or use your favorite combination. Cheese that melts easily is optimal for that dippable quality.
Some cheese might be watery and create small puddles of water during baking. If this happens, fold up a paper towel into a wedge and dap off the liquid.
By the way, get creative with your own add-ins!
Recommended supplies:
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- Parchment paper—to line the work surface. Prevents the dough from sticking to the work surface.
- Pastry brush to brush egg wash onto the dough. These are silicone and heat-resistant.
- A bench scraper is used to score and scrape the dough off the work surface. This is not a necessary tool, but it is helpful.
- A marble rolling pin is great for rolling out dough. The benefit of marble rolling pins is you can chill it before use. Cold rolling pins help keep the dough cool, which helps it bake up nice and flaky.
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Georgian Cheese Bread (Adjaruli Khachapuri) with Broccoli
Description
Adjaruli Khachapuri is a bread boat filled with hot bubbling cheese and a runny egg. It is a beloved Georgian comfort dish and total food porn. My take on it also contains broccoli and red pepper flakes for heat.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- Divide the pizza dough in half. Lightly cover one half while working on the other half.
- Dust the work surface with flour. Roughly shape the dough into an oval. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into an oval approximately 12” x 9”. Rotate dough 90 degrees as you roll to prevent sticking. Dust the top of the dough and work the surface with flour if the dough begins to stick.
- Cover the dough with a greased plastic wrap as you roll the remaining half of the dough.
- Transfer both ovals onto a parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll and reshape the dough. Slide dough and parchment paper onto a baking sheet.
- Combine cheese and onion in a bowl. Spread half of the cheese mixture onto each oval, creating a slightly thicker mound of cheese towards the center. Leave a 1-inch bare border on the long sides and 2-inch on the shorter ends.
- Starting on one of the longer sides of the oval, roll or fold in the dough just enough to create a lip taller than the level of the cheese. Repeat on the opposite side.
- On the short ends, fold in the tips and twist to seal.
- Add half of the broccoli florets to each.
- Brush the dough with a beaten egg.
- Bake on a parchment paper lined or greased baking sheet for 12 minutes. The crust should be golden brown. Remove from oven. Using a spoon, create a well in the center of each khachapuri. Crack an egg into each well. Sprinkle the entire surface with red pepper flakes.
- Return to the oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the whites are just set.
- For each khachapuri, rub a chunk of butter onto the bread. Cut butter in half. Tuck into the cheese mixture on either side of the egg. Serve immediately.
- To eat: tear one of the tips off the bread, and use it to swirl the egg and butter into the cheese. Continue to tear or cut off pieces of bread and dipping into the cheese mixture as you eat.
Notes
- Allow refrigerated pizza dough to rest for about 1 hour at room temperature before use. If it springs back and won’t hold its shape when rolled out with a rolling pin, cover it lightly and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Attempt to roll dough again. Repeat the 15-minute rest cycle if needed.
- If some areas of the bread darken too quickly during baking, cover the areas with small pieces of foil.
- The eggs are undercooked by design. They continue to cook once stirred into the hot cheese. If you want to cook the eggs longer, feel free to do so.
- I have not tried this with regular bread dough, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If the dough could be rolled out and hold its shape, it should work.
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Wow! This looks so good. I love that you used pizza dough. This will be a winner in our house!
Thank you so much Abbe.I’m glad your family would like it! The ready made pizza dough makes it easier and faster to tackle than homemade dough.
These are stunning and would be perfect for a nice brunch (someday I will entertain again). As usual you pictures are very helpful in making something that could be intimidating look doable!
I hope that day will be here soon. I’m glad the pictures are inspiring you to try it someday! I used store bought pizza dough to make it as easy as possible replicate 🙂
This recipe looks easy and delicious Would be great for a guest breakfast or brunch
I will be trying this next weekend
I’m so glad to you want to try it. I hope you like it! Please let me know how it goes!
I’ve seen these around and I really need to make them! Bread and eggs. Fabulous.
You should give them a try, Mimi. They are delicious, and I love the runny egg!