Adjarian Khachapuri with Molten Sulguni Cheese, Butter-Enriched Egg Yolk and Fresh Herb Crust

Make the dough: combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add warm milk and oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. It should pass the windowpane test — stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through without tearing. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until doubled.

Ingredients

• For the bread dough:
• 350g (2.75 cups) bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 220ml (scant 1 cup) warm whole milk (not water — milk creates a richer, more tender crumb)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• For the cheese filling:
• 300g (10.5 oz) sulguni cheese (Georgian brine-ripened cheese), grated — substitute with a 2:1 mix of low-moisture mozzarella and halloumi if sulguni is unavailable
• 100g (3.5 oz) feta cheese, crumbled (adds salt and tang)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (binds the cheese for filling)
• For the egg topping:
• 4 egg yolks (one per khachapuri, added at the end)
• 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes — one tablespoon per boat
• Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper
• For serving:
• Fresh tarragon and dill for garnish (tarragon is the Georgian herb of choice)
• Additional butter for the table

Instructions

1. Make the dough: combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add warm milk and oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. It should pass the windowpane test — stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through without tearing. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until doubled.
2. Prepare the cheese filling: combine grated sulguni, crumbled feta, and beaten egg in a bowl. Mix until a cohesive, slightly sticky filling forms. Season lightly — the cheeses are already salty. The filling should be soft enough to spread but dense enough to hold its shape.
3. Shape the khachapuri boats: Adjarian khachapuri is shaped like an open boat or a tapered oval — this is the specific regional form from Adjara on the Black Sea coast. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each into an oval about 25cm long and 15cm wide. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll or pinch the long sides up to form walls about 3cm high, then twist and pinch the two pointed ends firmly to seal — the 'boat' shape should hold its structure. The walls must be high enough to contain the molten cheese and the egg without spilling.
4. Fill and preheat: divide the cheese filling evenly among the four dough boats, spreading it flat to the walls. Let rest for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 220°C (425°F). The dough needs this final proof to rise and puff before baking.
5. Bake until golden: place the filled boats in the hot oven for 15-18 minutes until the bread walls are deeply golden and the cheese is fully melted, bubbling, and beginning to brown in spots. The cheese should be completely molten throughout — no cool pockets.
6. Add the egg and butter: remove from oven. Working quickly, make a small well in the center of each molten cheese pool with the back of a spoon. Drop one egg yolk carefully into each well — the yolk should sit in the molten cheese, not slide to the edge. Add a cube of cold butter to each boat. Return immediately to the oven for exactly 2-3 minutes — the white around the yolk (if any white was included) should set, but the yolk should remain completely runny.
7. Serve immediately and tableside: khachapuri is a tableside dish. Place the hot boat in front of each diner. The proper Georgian way to eat it: take a piece of the bread crust, use it to stir the egg yolk into the molten cheese, creating a unified, rich, butter-enriched fondue. Then tear off pieces of bread and drag them through the melted cheese pool.
8. Garnish with torn tarragon and fresh dill, a pinch of flaky salt, and cracked pepper. Adjarian khachapuri is the most celebrated bread dish of the Caucasus — a boat of molten cheese topped with an egg and butter that has been eaten on the Black Sea coast for centuries. It is simultaneously humble and decadent, requiring only flour, cheese, and fire.