Khachapuri Food

KHACHAPURI

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Combine milk and margarine in a 1-quart saucepan; heat over low heat until milk is very warm and margarine is mostly melted, about 5 minutes.
• Beat milk mixture into the flour mixture on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups flour; beat until a soft dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Turn over to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Gently punch down dough to deflate. Let rise until doubled again, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.
• Gently punch down dough and roll into a circular shape. Transfer to the baking pan.
• Mix Muenster cheese, egg, and egg yolk together in a bowl. Spread over dough in the baking pan. Gather up dough in 1 1/2-inch pleats. Squeeze pleats together gently and twist to make a topknot.
• Let dough rest, 10 to 15 minutes. Brush with egg white.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour.

GEORGIAN CHEESE AND EGG BREAD (ADJARULI KHACHAPURI)

Steps:

• For the dough: Lightly oil a medium bowl. Heat the milk with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over low heat to between 110 and 115 degrees F. Transfer it to a small bowl and stir in the sugar, then sprinkle over the yeast and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (Cover the bowl if the room or the yeast is cold.)
• Put a pizza stone on the lowest rack in your oven, removing the second rack if there is one. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Cut two 10-by-7-inch pieces of parchment paper.
• Put the flour in a medium bowl and whisk in the salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeasty mixture and the oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated and the mixture forms a shaggy ball -- it will be soft and sticky. Flour your work surface, scrape the dough onto it and knead until smooth, elastic and still slightly sticky, about 5 minutes. Put the dough in the oiled bowl, turn it to coat with oil and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• For the filling and topping: Work the mozzarella and feta together with a fork in a medium bowl. Make a little well in the center and add 1 egg. Beat the egg a bit with a fork, and mix and mash well to combine with the cheeses.
• Lightly flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and cut it in half. Round the halves gently back into rough rounds. Put 1 piece of parchment paper on your work surface and flour it lightly. Press and use a rolling pin to roll 1 piece of dough into a round 1/8-inch thick and 10-inches across. Slide it onto the paper -- it will hang over the long edges -- and then slide it, paper and all, onto the back of a baking sheet. (Alternatively, use a pizza peel.) Repeat with the other piece of dough, transferring it to the back of a second baking sheet.
• Spoon half of the cheese mixture on the first round, spreading some 1/2-inch from the edge and mounding the rest in the middle (there will be a big mound). Roll the sides up tightly to make a shape like a cheese-filled canoe -- it should be about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. Pinch the ends together and twist to seal tightly. Repeat with the other piece of dough and remaining cheese. Let rest 10 minutes.
• Slide the khachapuris on their papers onto the pizza stone, leaving a few inches of space between them. Bake, turning them 180 degrees after about 8 minutes, until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes total. Crack 1 egg in each khachapuri and continue to bake until the white is just set around the edges, but some of the white and the yolk are still a bit raw, about 3 minutes. Remove to a serving platter, dot each khachapuri with 1 tablespoon butter and stir the eggs into the hot cheese¿they will continue to cook. Serve immediately, tearing off pieces of bread to scoop up the hot, buttery, eggy, gooey cheese.

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.

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 FEAST BREAD)

Steps:

• Dough: Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan, or in the microwave, till the butter has melted. Put the sugar, coriander and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and pour the hot milk over them, stirring to combine and to dissolve the malt or sugar. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
• Add the instant yeast and flour to the milk mixture and stir to form a shaggy mass. Set this rough dough aside for 30 minutes.
• Knead the dough until it's smooth -- in a bread machine set on the dough cycle, about 2 minutes in a food processor, 6 to 8 minutes by electric stand mixer, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand. Put the dough in a greased bowl, turn it over to coat the entire surface, and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it increases in size by at least one-third.
• Filling: If you have a food processor, use it -- it's ideal for this filling. Cube the hard cheese, add the soft cheese, and process until well-mixed but some chunks remain. Add the eggs, flour and seasonings, and pulse just to mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• If you don't have a food processor, grate the hard cheese, and beat in the soft cheese and eggs. Continue beating, adding the flour and seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Shaping and Baking: After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half (you'll be making two loaves), and cut a small (1-ounce) piece of dough off of each half. Round all four pieces of dough into balls, and let them rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Roll each large ball into a 10- to 12-inch circle. Place one circle into a lightly greased small pie tin, 8- or 9-inch round cake pan, or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Dollop half of the cheese mixture into the middle of the circle, and pull the dough up around the cheese, folding and pinching it, and "pleating" it into a topknot. Leave a small hole in the very center of the knot, and place the small ball in this hole. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Cover the loaves and let them rise for 45 minutes or longer -- they'll look puffy, but not doubled in size. If the pleats have opened, pinch them shut.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. When finished, the loaves will be golden brown, and the middle should feel set. Tent the loaves with aluminum foil after 15 minutes if they seem to be browning too quickly. Remove the loaves from the oven, and allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Slice the bread into wedges, and serve it warm, or at room temperature.
• *Heat milk until small bubbles form around the edge, and the occasional wisp of steam is evident.
• **Cheese varies greatly in salt content, so taste before adding salt.