Khachapuri — Visual Recipe
Everyone who knows Georgian cuisine, has probably tried the triumvirate of dishes: 1. Khinkali, 2. Khachapuri and 3. Badrijani Nigvzit.
While all three are mouth-watering, Khinkali and Badrijani are quite complicated to make. Khachapuri, which basically consists of 2 ingredients — cheese and bread — is a go-to dish when you want to impress foreign friends. That’s what we’re gonna do today. If you’re worried that you don’t have access to original ingredients, worry not — we have got you covered.
Step 1: Get the ingredients
- 2x layer dough
- 2x mozzarella balls (125g or more each)
- 1x block of Greek cheese (250g or more)
- 1 egg
- a spoonful of creme fraiche (yogurt or kefir also work)
- Pinch of salt
- Appetite
Step 2: Mix your cheese
The more thoroughly you mix the cheese, the better.
Step 3: Roll out the backing paper on a tray and roll out the 1st dough on it
No instructions needed: lay it out baby.
Step 4: Add and distribute the cheese mix.
Distribute it evenly, with gentle hand movements. People don’t believe me, but this is the most important step!
This is how the final result should look like. The edges are left empty, since we will be folding those up.
Step 5: Cover the creation with the 2nd dough
Lay it out again, baby!
Step 6: Close the edges of the dough firmly
First walk around with your fingers around the rectangle of joy, pressing down the dough. This won’t be enough though…
Take the edges of the lower dough and fold them up, making sure the Khachapuri is firmly closed. We don’t want any cheese oozing out during the baking process.
Step 7: Cut the upper layer of the dough in small rectangles
This serves double purpose: first to make sure that the air escapes during the baking, and second, to roughly pre-cut the Khachapuri in pieces.
Step 8: Mix the egg and creme fraiche, and cover the dough
Make sure to cover the edges too. Try not to “choke” the cuts fully with the mix, so that the air can still escape during the baking.
Final Step: bake at 200 degrees Celsius for around 25 minutes.
And Voila!
