Georgia's most iconic dish — a boat-shaped bread filled with bubbling melted sulguni cheese, topped with a raw egg and a knob of butter. Broken into strips and dipped.
Adjarian khachapuri (აჭარული ხაჭაპური) is Georgia's most photographed dish and one of the most original baked dishes in the world. The bread is shaped like a boat (the Adjarian region borders the Black Sea — the shape references fishing boats). The interior is filled with a generous amount of sulguni cheese — Georgia's salty, slightly elastic pulled-curd cheese — which melts into a thick, bubbling pool. Just before serving, a raw egg is cracked into the centre and a large knob of butter is added. The egg sets very slightly in the residual heat. Eating is communal and specific: you break the curved tip of the bread into strips and use them to stir the egg into the melted cheese, then scoop and eat.
Serves 2
Mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add water and oil. Knead 8 min until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest 1 hour until doubled.
If using sulguni, grate it. If substituting, mix grated mozzarella and crumbled feta 3:1 — the blend approximates sulguni's salty-milky character.
Divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll each into an oval about 30cm long. Place on a baking sheet. Pile half the cheese in the centre of each, leaving a 4cm border. Roll the long edges inward over themselves to form raised sides, pinching the ends together to form pointed boat prows.
The walls must be thick enough to hold the cheese — press them firmly and pinch the ends tightly.
Preheat oven to 230°C (as hot as possible). Bake 12–14 min until the bread is golden and the cheese is fully melted and bubbling. The cheese should be liquid, not set.
Remove from oven. Quickly crack one egg into the centre of each khachapuri. Add a large knob of butter. Return to oven for exactly 2 min — the white should be barely set while the yolk remains completely runny.
Serve immediately at the table. Break the curved tip of the bread into strips and stir the egg, butter and cheese together in the boat. Scoop and eat with the bread strips.
The cheese must be liquid when you add the egg — if it has set, it won't incorporate. Work quickly after pulling from the oven.
The yolk must remain runny — it is the sauce that binds the cheese and butter.
Taste and adjust salt at the very end — flavors concentrate as liquids reduce, and a final pinch of flaky salt sharpens the whole dish.
Mise en place pays for itself: chop, measure and pre-mix everything before the heat goes on, especially for any step that moves fast.
Imeruli khachapuri: a round, fully enclosed cheese bread (no egg) — the simpler everyday version
Megruli khachapuri: round like Imeruli but with extra cheese on top
Vegetable filling: spinach and cheese for a lighter version
Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.
Khachapuri must be eaten immediately — it cannot be stored or reheated successfully.
Khachapuri (literally 'cheese bread' — khacho = cheese, puri = bread) has been a Georgian staple for at least 500 years. The Adjarian boat form developed in the Batumi coastal region. So central is khachapuri to Georgian identity that economists have created the 'Khachapuri Index' — tracking the price of the ingredients (flour, cheese, eggs, butter) as a measure of Georgian inflation.
Sulguni is a Georgian brined, lightly smoked pulled-curd cheese with a slightly salty, milky flavour and elastic texture, similar to mozzarella. The closest widely available substitute is a 3:1 blend of low-moisture mozzarella and feta cheese, which approximates both the texture and the salty complexity of sulguni.
Yes — most of the components can be prepared up to a day in advance and refrigerated separately. Reheat gently and assemble just before serving so textures stay distinct.
Stay close to the role each ingredient plays: swap aromatics for similar ones (shallot for onion, lime for lemon), and keep the fat-acid-salt balance intact. Spice blends can usually be approximated with what's in the cupboard.
Authenticity sits on a spectrum — what matters more is honoring the technique and balance of flavors. If the dish tastes harmonious and respects how cooks in its home region would build it, you're on solid ground.
Per serving · 2 servings total
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