These are fun to make and very filling, great for feeding a hungry crowd and good for breakfast and brunch. We mix three cheeses, mozzarella for stringiness, mature Cheddar for sharpness and feta for saltiness. Nothing like the original Georgian mixture but let’s not allow a lack of authenticity to get
in the way of a good snack.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 2 oz 4 cups (500 g) strong white flour
- ¼ oz 1½ tsp (10 g) fine sea salt
- ⅛ oz 1¼ tsp (5 g) fast acting yeast
- 11 fl oz 1½ cups (330 ml) room temperature water
- 4 oz 1 cup (120 g) mozzarella, ripped into little pieces
- 4 oz 1 cup (120 g) grated mature Cheddar
- 4 oz 1 cup (120 g) crumbled feta
- 4 medium eggs
- Olive oil
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
How to Make It
- Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Add the water and mix well. Knead the dough on a clean work surface until smooth and springy.
- Put the dough back in a clean bowl, cover and leave to rise for 2 hours.
- Mix the three cheeses with the thyme and oil and leave in the fridge.
- Divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Shape into balls, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rest for 30 minutes. This will make shaping the breads much easier.
- Take a ball of dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top.
- Use your fingertips to press the dough out to make an oval about 22x10cm/9x4”.
- Take two corners at one of the ends and cross one over the other. Press down to create the bow of your boat-shaped khachapuri. Repeat at the other end to make the stern.
- Roll the edges in and press down to make the sides of your boat. You should now have a nice, deep pocket to fill with cheese.
- Repeat the shaping process with the other 3 dough balls.
- Divide the cheese mixture between the 4 khachapuri.
- Put 2 of the khachapuri on to a well floured peel and shuffle them on to your oven floor. Repeat with the other 2 khachapuri.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Then make a hollow in the cheese fillings be careful they will be hot and crack an egg into each khachapuri. Put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes until cooked. The sides and the ends should be well risen, golden brown and puffy, the cheeses bubbly and browned and the eggs still runny.
