Khachapuri For A Crowd Food

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the
• salt, yeast, sugar, and flour.
• Heat water and milk to about 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients.
• Begin kneading the dough with the hook attachment until it's close to being smooth and elastic.
• Add the oil into the dough and knead for another minute.
• Drizzle a little bit of olive oil onto the bottom and sides of a deep bowl. Place the dough inside the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Remove the plastic wrap and press into the dough a few times with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap once more and let it sit in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the farmers cheese, feta, and mozzarella in a bowl.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place it onto a floured surface. Then cut it into 4 equal pieces.
• Spread each piece of the dough into a circle about 9 inches in diameter. Then roll 2 opposite sides of the circle towards the center so it ends up have a boat like shape. Then pinch the corners together.
• Transfer the khachapuri onto a baking sheet lined with greased parchment paper.
• Stuff each khachapuri with the cheese mixture. Beat 1 egg with a teaspoon of water, then brush the dough with egg wash.
• Bake in a preheated 450 degrees oven for about 15 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown.
• Make a well in the center of each khachapuri with the back of a spoon (about 3 inches in diameter) and drop 1 egg into each well. Then stick a few small pieces of butter into the cheese.
• Return the khachapuri back into the oven and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on your oven. The egg white should be white but still pretty runny. It will cook further as it sits in the hot cheese. When serving, mix the cheese and egg with a fork and serve immediately.

KHACHAPURI (GEORGIAN CHEESE-FILLED BREAD)

Steps:

• To make the dough, mix the yeast with the sugar, water, flour, and salt in a bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and either leave in the refrigerator overnight or somewhere in your kitchen for an hour or so until doubled in size.
• For the filling, mix the cheeses with the single egg yolk and use a fork to mash well.
• Preheat the oven to its highest setting and heat a couple of baking sheets-or a pizza stone if you have one.
• Flour your work surface really well. Cover your hands in flour and scrape the dough on to your work surface. Knead it in the flour a little if it's too sticky. Divide the dough into 6 pieces (each piece should be about 100 g (3½ oz). Roll out each piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 18 cm (7-inch) round. Stretch either side of each round to elongate and then pile 100 g (3½ oz) of filling in the centre, leaving a 5 mm (¼ inch) border around the edge. Bring two sides of the dough up to meet in the middle and pinch a seam together to seal, similar to a Cornish pasty. Press down with the flat of your hand to flatten it, then flip it over so the seam is face down. With a sharp knife, make a slash along the middle of the dough and push the sides open to expose the filling. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling to make 6 khachapuris.
• Slide the khachapuris on to the hot baking trays and bake for 10 minutes until the sides turn golden. Crack an egg into the centre of each, then bake for a further 2-3 minutes. To eat, pinch the dough from one end and use it to dip and mix the runny egg yolk into the filling.

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 FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• To make the dough, mix the wet ingredients together with the yeast, then mix in the dry ones to make a soft, rather wet dough. Tina, fearlessly, scraped the dough off her hand with the blade of a knife (nothing is wasted). She covers the bowl with a tea towel (or use plastic wrap) and leaves it for a minimum of 2 hours in her warm kitchen until doubled in size.
• Preheat your oven to its highest temperature.
• Divide the dough in half. Tina dusts flour on to a 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inch) baking tray and puts it on top of her stove to warm up a little. The dough is very, very soft, and she stretches one half of the dough first with her hands and then puts it on to the tray, covering its whole base.
• If the cheese is lovely and fatty, as it is in Svaneti, they don't add any eggs. But if your cheese isn't fatty enough, do add the eggs. If it needs it, add some salt to the cheese, then distribute it evenly all over the base dough.
• On a well-floured work surface, stretch the remaining dough to the same size of the base dough or as near as possible. Lay it on top of the cheese and make sure you pinch the sides of the two layers of dough together to seal the filling. Mix the egg yolk with the yogurt and use to glaze all over the top, then bake the khachapuri for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden and the dough is cooked through.