We have a totally different Georgia on our minds, today!
The country of Georgia is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, in the South Caucasus region. Russia is to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, and the Black Sea to the west. They have historical and cultural ties to both Europe and Asia.
Besides having a great food history, Georgia is also one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world. The things one can learn…
One of the first recipes I saw over and over was Khachapuri – a Georgian Cheese Bread.
There are various ways of making them, depending upon which area of the country you are in. Some had a stuffed crust, some did not. The shape was reasonably the same throughout.
Next, was Kada – another dish with numerous regional variations. Some were individual buns, some were streusel-topped, some were rolled, some were more pie-like.
For the Khachapuri, I chose a non-stuffed crust (I don’t care for stuffed crust pizza, so why do it here?) And I went for a more rolled and sliced streusel-topped Kada.
I looked at many recipes, watched a couple of videos, and went with a King Arthur recipe for the dough and I made my own cheese blend for the filling. The posted recipe is the King Arthur version. It had the ingredients most accessible to me, although I did not follow their filling recipe. (I used Feta, Ricotta, Pecorino, and a blend of Parmesan, Asiago, and Fontina – no flour or egg binder.)
Khachapuri – Georgian Cheese Bread
Dough
- 3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (227g) milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) table salt
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 2 3/4 cups (330g) Bread Flour
Filling
- 2 cups (227g) mozzarella cheese or Muenster cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup (57g) crumbled feta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons (14g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Garnish
- 4 large eggs cold from the refrigerator
- 4 teaspoons (19g) butter
To make the dough: Heat the butter and milk together in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter melts., Place the sugar (or malt powder), coriander, and salt in a large bowl, and pour the hot milk over it, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cool to lukewarm, about 100°F to 110°F. ,
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Stir in the yeast and flour, mixing until a shaggy mass forms. Cover with plastic wrap or a reusable bowl cover and let rest for 10 minutes. ,
After the rest, knead until smooth; 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or 6 to 8 minutes at medium speed in a mixer. Knead in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons flour if the dough is uncomfortably sticky. ,
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it increases in size by at least one third. ,
To make the filling: Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat to combine, or pulse everything together briefly with a food processor; leave some bits of the cheese intact. ,
To assemble: Line two baking sheets with parchment. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into four equal pieces, about 150g each.,
Roll each piece into an oval shape about 10″ long and 6″ wide. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes. ,
Spoon one quarter of the cheese mixture (about 119g) into the center of each and spread to within 1″ of the edges., Pull the dough’s edges up around the cheese, folding and twisting the ends to form a boat shape. ,
Cover and let rise for 20 minutes, or until puffy but not doubled. While the breads are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F with two racks toward the center. , Brush the exposed edges of the khachapuri with the egg wash and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they feel set; they won’t have started to brown nor will the filling be bubbly, but don’t worry; they’re going to continue to bake once you add their egg-and-butter garnish. ,
Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon to make an indentation about 3″ across in the filling of each khachapuri. Crack an egg into each, place a teaspoon of butter on top, and bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes (for soft-set eggs), or 12 to 15 minutes (for firmer eggs). ,
Remove from the oven and serve warm. Garnish with additional fresh herbs, if desired. ,
For the Kada, I more-or-less followed a Rolled Kada recipe, but added a streusel topping and cut them similar to that recipe. Variations on a theme…
Kada
from several online recipes
For the dough
- 500 g all-purpose flour, sifted
- 250 g butter, room temperature
- 250 ml plain yogurt
- 1 egg
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.3 tsp salt
For the filling
- 150 g all-purpose flour, sifted
- 200 g sugar
- 100 g butter, softened
- 1 tbsp vanilla powder
In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Add softened butter, cut in small pieces. Use your fingertips to incorporate the butter into the flour. Add yogurt and an egg. Mix well. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. If the dough remains sticky, add some flour, a little at a time. Wrap the dough into a clingfilm and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
For the filling combine the flour, sugar and softened butter into a medium bowl. Add vanilla powder and mix the filling until it looks like dump sand. Reserve 1/2 cup.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Dust the working surface with some flour. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Spread the filling mixture over the dough leaving a 2-2,5 cm uncovered edge for sealing. Start rolling the dough up into a log shape. Using a rolling pin or your palm flatten the loaf out a bit. Brush the roll with egg wash and sprinkle reserved streusel on top.
Use the crinkle cutter or sharp knife and cut the loaf into equally-sized pieces. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and put the pieces onto it. Bake the cake in a preheated oven (180 °C/355°F) for 25-30 minutes, until golden.
The Khachapuri was really good! My big mistake was making them too big. The recipe called for making four cheese breads, but when I started rolling out the dough, they seemed too small since it was the main dinner component. We’re pretty much two-pieces-of-pizza guys, so I really didn’t think it through – we both only ate half. But…. they really were good and easy to make. I’ll do them again on a smaller scale. I also saw a video where a woman baked them on bread stones… maybe next time I’ll give that a try.
The Kada were the perfect dessert! Another dish I can see making, again.
They were very much like a rugelach and I could see them with chopped walnuts added to the filling. And, again, easy to make.
Georgia was a definite success. It’s now on to H… there are three very different possibilities…
Which one will it be?!?
