Khachapuri Flatbreads From Georgia
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 pieces
I travelled Georgia with the onset of winter, things were getting pretty chilly. One thing that was always available while stood out in a frigid transport hub was the warming richness of kachapuri, often the famous boat shaped variety with a baked egg sitting in a pool of molten cheese. Served with a glass of heart-starter Georgian coffee or, better yet, a glass of their outstanding red wines.
The ingredients here are adjusted a little, favouring easier-to-get ingredients outside of Georgia rather than the traditional. If you cant get kefir, swap out for buttermilk, or plain yoghurt mixed with just enough water to make it pourable. Kefir is better.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 125ml kefir (see alternatives above) and 125 ml smetana (sour cream)
- 300g plain flour (you may need a bit more as you work the dough)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100g butter plus some for brushing
For the filling:
- 350g mixed mozzarella and feta cheese (traditionally, any or all of imereti, suluguni and adygei)
- 2 tbsp smetana (sour cream)
- Salt to taste
- 25g softened butter
Method
Melt the 100g butter for the dough. Combine the kefir and sour cream in mixing bowl, add the salt, sugar and bicarbonate of soda. Pour in the melted butter and mix the ingredients until they’re blended together and slightly frothy. Add the flour bit by bit to form the dough. Eventually you’ll want to start working it with your hands. You’re looking for a soft, smooth non-sticky texture. Let the dough rest while you make the filling.
Grate the cheeses and mix them in a bowl with the softened butter and the sour cream until it forms a homogeneous mass that you can divide into four blobs.
Divide the dough into four pieces. Flatten each piece on a floured board and roll out into a disc between 0.5 and 1 cm thick. Put a quarter of the cheese mixture into the middle of the dough. Now comes the fun bit: draw up the sides of the disc around the cheese and join them to make a pouch. The dough will join at the top like a navel. If there’s too much dough, trim it.
Gently flatten the pouch with the rolling pin until it’s roughly disc-shaped and between 1 and 2 cm thick. The cheese layer should be entirely enveloped by the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough to make four khachapuri.
Place one khachapuri in a preheated dry frying pan (cast iron pan is ideal for this) and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. The dough will puff up a little. Flip it over and cook the other side. The finished khachapuri should be speckled on both sides with brown, giraffe-like spots, and the concealed cheese core should be unctuous and melted. Remove and brush with melted butter.
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