National Dish Georgia: Khachapuri (Recipe)
In this article
Khachapuri is bread and cheese, and the Adjarian version is a boat with an egg yolk in the middle that you stir into the molten cheese at the table. It arrives too hot to eat and nobody waits.
About Khachapuri
Khachapuri is Georgia’s national dish and it comes in regional forms. Imeruli is a round, filled and flat. Megruli has cheese on top as well. Acharuli, the boat, is the one that photographs well and the one below.
The cheese is sulguni, a brined, springy cheese that pulls when melted. Mozzarella plus feta approximates it: mozzarella for the stretch, feta for the salt.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 500 g plain flour
- 300 ml warm water
- 1 sachet dried yeast
- 1 pinch of sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 250 g sulguni cheese or mozzarella
- 100 g feta
- 30 g butter
- 1 egg
Shopping for the ingredients
Sulguni is sold in Georgian, Russian and some Turkish shops. If you find it, use it. Otherwise low-moisture mozzarella with about a third feta by weight is the standard workaround. Use plain flour, not strong: khachapuri dough should be soft rather than chewy.
Preparing the dish
Let the dough prove properly, a full hour, until doubled. Grate or crumble the cheese and mix the two kinds thoroughly. Get the oven as hot as it goes with a baking stone or heavy tray inside; 250°C is the target and lower temperatures give a pale, tough result.
Step-by-step instructions
- Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl and slowly pour in the warm water.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, then cover it and leave it to prove in a warm place for about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, crumble or grate the sulguni and the feta and mix them together.
- Once proved, divide the dough in two and roll each piece into a round.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the rounds, leaving a clear border.
- Fold the border over the filling and shape each round into a boat.
- Bake at 250°C for around 15 minutes, until the dough is golden brown. Shortly before the end of the baking time, crack an egg into the centre and finish baking.
- Serve piping hot, with pieces of butter dotted over the khachapuri.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The dough is wheat and the filling is cheese, so khachapuri challenges both restrictions. A gluten-free bread blend works with a wetter dough and careful handling. Lactose-free is harder; a firm plant cheese melts adequately but does not pull.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Khachapuri is vegetarian as written, which is worth saying because much Georgian food is not. Lobiani, the same bread filled with spiced beans, is the vegan equivalent and is a genuine Georgian dish rather than an adaptation. Pkhali, the walnut and vegetable pâtés, are also vegan.
More tips and tricks
Get the oven properly hot and preheat the stone. Pinch the ends of the boat hard, or they unfold and the cheese escapes. Add the egg for the last three minutes only, so the yolk stays runny. And serve it immediately: the whole ritual is stirring butter and yolk into cheese that is still molten.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Imeruli is the flat, enclosed everyday version and is easier to make. Adding a little tarragon or a handful of chopped herbs to the cheese is done in some regions. More feta gives a saltier result.
Ingredient substitutions
Mozzarella and feta are the standard stand-in for sulguni. Matsoni or plain yoghurt in the dough makes it richer. Butter is not optional at the end.
Drink pairing ideas
Georgian wine, ideally an amber qvevri wine from Kakheti, which is what the country invented eight thousand years ago. Saperavi if you want red. Tarragon lemonade, the bright green Georgian soft drink, is the other classic.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve the boat straight from the oven with butter on top and the egg yolk whole in the centre. Stir yolk, butter and cheese together at the table, then tear off the raised edge and dip. That is the correct method and Georgians will show you if you hesitate.
A bit of history
Khachapuri is old and regional, with each province having claimed its own shape for centuries. The Adjarian boat is said to represent a fishing vessel with the sun in it, which may or may not be after the fact. Georgia has UNESCO recognition for its qvevri winemaking, and the bread sits alongside that as the other thing the country is known for. It anchors Georgian cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Khachapuri
Khachapuri is yeast dough shaped into a boat, filled with sulguni and baked hot, with an egg yolk and butter stirred in at the table. Get the oven to 250°C, pinch the ends, and eat it at once.
