Georgian Cheese And Egg Bread Adjaruli Khachapuri Food

ADJARULI KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix the water and milk in a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and let it stand for 5-7 minutes, until the yeast becomes foamy. Mix the yeast into the liquid. Add the oil and mix well.
• Mix 2 cups of flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in the salt. Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough starts to come together.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 5-7 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands or the counter, until a soft (but not sticky) dough forms.
• Place the dough into a greased bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1 - 1 ½ hours, until bubbly and doubled in bulk.
• While the dough is rising, make your filling. In a small bowl, mix the shredded mozzarella and feta cheese with one egg. Set aside.
• For best results, move your oven rack to roughly 6 inches from the top heating unit. Preheat your oven to 475F.
• Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 4, roughly even, pieces.
• Shape each piece into an oval, roughly 11 x 6". Place the dough ovals onto greased baking sheets, leaving an inch between each bread.
• On the baking sheet, fold ¾ of an inch of dough inwards to create a thicker border, a crust that will keep the melted cheese and egg inside. Pinch the two small ends into points to create a boat-shape.
• Spoon ¼ of the filling into the center of each "boat". Smooth the filing with a spoon.
• Place the khachapuri into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden.
• Remove the khachapuri from the oven and crack one egg into the center of the bubbling cheese in each boat. Return the khachapuri to the oven and bake for an additional 3-4 minutes, just until the egg has set.
• Serve the khachapuri warm, with a small pat butter on top or brush the crust with a little melted butter before serving. It is traditional to mix the egg and melted cheese with a fork and dip torn off pieces of the crust into the cheesy, eggy goodness in the middle.

KHACHAPURI ADJARULI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD BOAT)

Steps:

• Make the dough (but if you're using store-bought, proceed to Step 2): In a small saucepan over low, heat 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 milliliters water until hot but not simmering. Turn off heat. In a large bowl, with your hands or a wooden spoon, stir together flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Check the temperature of reserved, warmed water; it should be warm to the touch, between 105 and 110 degrees. Add it to the flour mixture and, with your hands, knead mixture into a smooth dough, about 5 minutes.
• Pour olive oil into a medium bowl. Holding dough with one hand, use it to coat the inside of the bowl with the oil. Set the dough in the bowl, oiled portion facing up. Cover bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees (or 425, if using a convection oven). Line a half sheet tray with parchment paper; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, stretch and roll dough into a circle, 1/4-inch thick, 10 to 12 inches across. Brush off excess flour, then lay the dough on the sheet tray. Using your fingers, roll, press and pinch two opposite sides of the circle a few inches into the center, building sides up, then press and pinch the narrow ends together to form two points. Continue to pinch and press the sides to create a raised rim and form the dough into an oval boat with an eye-like shape. Let rest in a warm place while you prepare the filling.
• In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella, goat cheese and feta with 3 tablespoons water. Stir with a fork until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Scrape the cheese mixture into the center of the dough boat, spreading it into an even layer.
• Bake khachapuri until the crust begins to brown and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, leaving oven on. Brush sides of khachapuri generously with melted butter. Return khachapuri to the oven for an additional 5 minutes until the crust is extra crisp and the cheese just starts to brown around the edges.
• Using a spoon, make a shallow, 2-inch-wide well in the center of the cheese. Add the egg yolk and cold butter (if using), and serve immediately. To serve, hold down one pointed end of the hot khachapuri with a fork; using another fork, quickly stir the egg and butter (if using) into the cheese mixture until it's smooth and stretchy. Rip pieces of the bread boat off to dip in the cheese while it's still hot.

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• Combine milk, water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. Add olive oil, 2 cups flour, and salt. Mix until a sticky dough comes together.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 3 minutes, adding in remaining flour as needed, until dough is very soft but still workable. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Combine Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and feta cheeses in a bowl. Toss together and refrigerate until needed.
• Punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Flatten slightly and cut in half. Dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour. Place 1 dough half on top and roll out into a square about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, stretching out the corners as needed. Arrange 1/4 of the cheese in 2 rows, 1 to 2 inches from the longest sides. Roll sides up tightly over the cheese, forming a canoe shape around the dough. Pinch and twist ends to seal.
• Cut off excess parchment around the dough; lift dough onto a baking sheet. Repeat shaping and stuffing the other dough half. Fill the canoe with the remaining cheese mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Form a well in the center of each khachapuri using a spoon; crack an egg inside each well.
• Return to oven and bake until eggs are mostly set, 3 to 4 minutes. Place 2 pats of butter over each filling and sprinkle salt and cayenne on top. Plate khachapuri; tear off one end and use it to stir the butter into the egg.

KHACHAPURI, GEORGIAN CHEESE FILLED FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• Dough (Khachapuri):.
• Line a spring form pan with butter.
• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water.
• Stir in the sugar/honey and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add the remaining water, the butter and the salt.
• Stir in 2 cups of the flour.
• Gradually add enough of the remaining flour so that the mixture holds together.
• On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (To knead in a food processor, combine the flour, butter and salt in the work bowl of the food processor and add the yeast mixture. With the machine on, gradually add enough warm water until the dough forms a ball, then process around the bowl about 25 times.).
• Shape into a ball, place in a large oiled bowl turning to coat, cover, and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and roll into a 20-inch round about 1/4 inch thick.
• Fit the dough into the greased spring form pan, letting the excess drape over the sides.
• Spoon in the filling (Filling directions at the end of the recipe).
• Gather the edges together to meet in the center, pleating the dough as evenly as possible into overlapping folds. Twist the dough ends that meet in the center to form a knob.
• Cover and let stand for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Brush the khachapuri with the egg mixture (Beat the egg with 1 tsp water).
• Bake until golden brown, about an hour.
• Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
• Georgian Cheese Filling (Khveli):.
• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir to blend.

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• Make a smooth dough out of the dough ingredients. Use as much flour as needed to keep dough light without it sticking to your hands.
• Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
• Prepare the filling. Grate the mozzarella and then mix with the cream cheese. Add the egg and butter and process into a smooth, glutinous mixture using either a hand mixer or a wooden spoon.
• Season with salt, if needed, and divide into 4 balls.
• Shape the dough into 4 balls also and roll these out to form 8 inch circles.
• Put the cheese filling balls into each dough circle and bring the edges of the dough circle up and over to seal. (Example.like an omelet or a calzone) Press firmly to seal.
• Carefully press the dough flat into a circular shape until each will fill a large skillet.
• Fry individually in hot butter, covered, before turning them and frying the other side, uncovered.
• Cut each flat loaf into 4 portions and serve hot.

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• Heat the milk to lukewarm (110 to 115 degrees).
• Place a half cup of lukewarm milk in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and a half teaspoon of sugar over the milk. Stir to dissolve. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining milk.
• Spoon three cups of the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast sponge, the remaining sugar and the butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until it is formed into a firm ball of dough.
• Gather up the dough and scraps in the bowl and turn out onto a floured wooden board. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding more of the remaining flour to the surface as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. When the dough is elastic and no longer sticky, place in a greased bowl, turning the dough to grease it. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk in a draft-free place, one to one-and-a-half hours.
• Punch the dough down with your fist and allow it to rise again until double in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cheeses. Grate the mozzarella coarsely, either in a food processor or with a hand grater. Crumble the goat cheese. Mix with egg, slightly beaten.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Punch the dough down and roll out on lightly floured surface to a circle about 20 inches in diameter.
• Fold the dough in quarters and place the point of the dough in the center of a nine-inch pan with an inch-and-a-half to two-inch sides. Unfold the dough, letting the excess hang over the sides. Spoon the cheese mixture onto the dough. Pick up the excess dough hanging over the edges and begin to pleat over the cheese. Make sure all pleats go in the same direction. Gather the ends of the dough in the center and twist into a small knob. Allow the dough to rest 10 minutes.
• Brush the top of the dough with melted butter and bake in the center of the oven for about one hour, or until golden. Allow the bread to cool in the pan, on a cake rack, before serving. The bread may be served warm or at room temperature.