The first time I saw Khachapuri bread, I could only ‘taste’ it with my eyes. My friend’s husband prepared for us delicious Georgian specialties, as he often travels to Georgia for business and fell in love with the local food. That day I learned there is such thing as Khachapuri bread (pronounced Ha-cha-pu-ree), and it looked like a delicious round flat bread, filled inside with gooey cheese. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t gluten free. So I went back to my kitchen and bake my own khachapuri breads, and the result was as delicious as it looked! There are several types of Georgian breads, including the most popular one, shaped beautifully as an open boat, and topped with an egg. Today I tell you how to make both flat and boat-shaped versions, just pick your favorite! {Recette en français à la fin de l’article}
The Imeruli Khachapuri bread is flat and round, and filled with cheese. Cheeses used in the traditional Georgian khachapuri are not available in Finland, but are quite similar to mozzarella and feta. So I used a mix of those two cheeses as filling, and added chives to bring extra flavour – just a personal touch. 
The dough is much like a pizza dough. I first roll it into an oval shape, then place a portion of the cheese mix on one side. I fold the dough over the cheese, seal the edges and gently roll again the dough into a disc. The bread is then fried in a pan with butter or oil. You can have those delicious cheesy flat breads as part of a Sunday brunch with friends or as accompaniment to a soup!
The boat-shaped bread is called Adjaruli khachapuri. Traditionally the baked bread is stuffed with the same cheeses mixture as Imeruli flatbread khachapuri. At the end of the baking process, an egg is popped in the center and just slightly cooked so it is still runny. In the original recipe few small pieces of butter are added into the cheese – I skipped the butter but feel free to go with it!
That second version is like a Georgian take on pizza. I tried various kinds of toppings else than the cheesy version, although always keeping the egg as the final addition. The topping I share with you today is a kind of ratatouille, based on eggplant, paprika, tomato and a hint of balsamic vinegar. See, you can be as creative as you wish and pick whatever ingredient you fancy – just remember to add the egg!
Don’t get intimidated by the length of my recipe: I simply give you different options of khachapuri breads (the flat Imeruli one and the boat-shaped Adjaruli one), as well as instructions how to prepare both the cheese and vegetable filling. You can simply make the cheese filling and play with the bread shape, or if you go for the boat-shaped khachapuri, try out the veggies filling for a change!
კარგი მადა – kargi mada … Bon appétit!
- The dough (for 4 pcs)
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 220 g organic brown rice flour
- 60 g buckwheat flour
- 60 g corn flour
- 100 g tapioca flour
- 60 g potato starch
- 1 tbsp psyllium
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 440 ml lukewarm water
- The cheese filling (for 4 pcs)
- 200 g grated mozzarella
- 200 g feta cheese
- 1 egg
- Chive
- The eggplant-tomato filling (for 4 boat shaped breads)
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red paprika
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (400g)
- Fresh basil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt, Pepper
- Toppings: 4 eggs
- 1 egg for brushing
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 440 ml lukewarm water.
- In a separate bowl, mix all the flours, starch, psyllium and salt together.
- Add olive oil to the yeasty mixture and pour all into the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough forms into a ball. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour.
- Meanwhile combine feta and mozzarella cheeses in a bowl, with chopped chive and one egg. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat oven to 230 degrees.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, place it on lightly floured parchment paper and cut it into 4 equal pieces.
- If you make flat and round Khachapuri: Spread each piece into an oval. Spread some cheese mixture on one side of the dough, fold the other side over. Press the edges to seal. Roll gently into a circle, about 20 cm diameter (size of my frying pan bottom!). Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add one khachapuri and cook on one side until the bread is well browned and lightly charred in some places. Using a wide spatula, turn and repeat on the remaining side. Serve immediately, or remove the breads to a baking sheet and cover with a dry towel as you repeat with the remaining breads.
- If you make a boat-shaped Khachapuri: Spread each piece of the dough into a circle. Then roll 2 opposite sides towards the center and pinch the corners together. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Place on a baking sheet and fill the boats with cheese filling or vegetable filling.
- Optional: brush all over with a beaten egg mixed with a teaspoon of water as egg wash.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
- Take out from the oven and make a well in the center of each khachapuri with a spoon. Drop one egg into each well. Return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
- Eggplant-tomato filling for the boat-shaped khachapuri: Slice the eggplant and toss it with salt. Let sit 20 minutes then squeeze out excess liquid.
- Heat a skillet with 3 tablespoons oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add chopped garlic and pepper and cook until tender. Add eggplant and cook further until tender. Add crushed tomatoes. Cook at a gently simmer, stirring occasionally. Add balsamic vinegar, chopped basil and season with salt and pepper.
- Blend briefly with a handheld mixer, leaving chunks.
- La pâte (pour 4 portions)
- 20 g levure fraîche
- 220 g farine de riz complet bio
- 60 g farine de sarrasin
- 60 g farine de maïs
- 100 g fécule de tapioca
- 60 g fécule de pomme de terre
- 1 càs psyllium
- 1 cc sel
- 2 càs huile d'olive
- 440 ml eau tiède
- Pour la garniture au fromage (pour 4 portions)
- 200 g mozzarella râpée
- 200 g feta
- 1 oeuf
- Ciboulette
- Pour la garniture aubergine-tomate (pour 4 portions)
- 1 aubergine
- 1 poivron rouge
- 1 oignon
- 2 gousses d'ail
- 1 boîte de tomates concassées (400g)
- Basilic frais
- 1 cc vinaigre balsamique
- Sel et poivre
- 4 oeufs
- 1 oeuf pour la dorure (facultatif)
- Préparer la pâte: Dans un bol mélanger la levure fraîche et 440 ml d'eau tiède.
- Dans un autre bol mélanger les farines, fécule, psyllium et sel.
- Ajouter l'huile d'olive dans le mélange eau-levure and verser sur le mélange de farines. Combiner jusqu'à la formation d'une pâte. Couvrir et laisser gonfler 1h au chaud.
- Pendant ce temps mélanger les fromages, la ciboulette ciselée et l'oeuf. Ajouter sel et poivre.
- Préchauffer le four à 230 degrés.
- Placer la pâte sur un papier sulfurisé légèrement fariné et la couper en 4 portions.
- Pour la version galette: Rouler chaque portion en forme ovale. Etaler un quart du mélange de fromage sur un côté, replier l'autre côté et souder les bords. Etaler à nouveau délicatement en cercle d'environ 20 cm de diamètre (taille du fond de ma poêle!) Répéter avec le reste de pâte et de garniture au fromage.
- Chauffer une poêle huilée et y placer un khachapuri. Cuire sur un côté environ 5 minutes jusqu'à ce qu'il colore. Répéter de l'autre côté. Faire de même pour les autres galettes
- Pour la version bateau: Etaler la pâte en cercle et rouler les bords vers le centre. Joindre les extrémités. Placer sur une plaque de four avec papier sulfurisé. Remplir de garniture au fromage (ou aux légumes).
- Optionnel: mélanger un oeuf avec une cc d'eau puis étaler au pinceau sur les bords de la pâte.
- Cuire au four pendant environ 15 minutes. Sortir les khachapuris du four, creuser un 'puit' au milieu et y verser un oeuf. Remettre au four environ 5 minutes (l'oeuf doit rester coulant). Servir immédiatement.
- Pour la garniture aubergine-tomate: Couper l'aubergine en morceau et faire dégorger 20 minutes avec du sel. Enlever l'excédent d'eau.
- Chauffer une poêle avec 3 càs d'huile et faire revenir l'oignon émincé. Ajouter l'ail et le poivron coupé en morceaux, cuire encore quelques minutes. Ajouter les tomates. Continuer la cuisson puis ajouter le vinaigre balsamique, le basilic et assaisonner avec sel et poivre.
- Mixer brièvement au pied mixer, en laissant des morceaux. Utiliser cette garniture à la place de celle au fromage. Parsemez à l'envie de fromage, et conservez l'oeuf au centre, ajouté en fin de cuisson!
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