Armenian khachapuri
Description
Goes perfectly with tea or coffee. When time is short, resourceful cooks make “lazy” khachapuri from store-bought puff pastry or lavash. Today we have real yeast khachapuri—golden, appetizing, delicious both cold and warm. Give them a try; they will steal your heart! The dough is cloud-soft, paired with a juicy cheese filling—it is so good! Traditionally the filling uses mild fresh cheese such as Adyghe cheese, brined cheese (brynza), or sulguni mixed with cottage cheese. I will use three kinds of cheese, but really the filling can be anything. The dough is universal and works for all sorts of fillings. You can bake one pie with cheese, for example, and another with potatoes and mushrooms, ground meat, fish, and so on. A versatile recipe. Be sure to try it. The baking is done; serve at the table.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients according to the list. Ideally, for the filling it is best to use tender lightly salted Adyghe cheese, Ossetian, or Imeretian cheese. Today I have an assortment: Adyghe, sulguni, and farmer’s cheese (similar to Russian cheese).
- 2
Step 2
In recipes you often see khachapuri dough made with cultured milk, matsoni, or kefir. Today we’re making the dough with water—trust me, the bake will be simply magical! Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
When the yeast has dissolved in the water and formed a foam, add salt, vegetable oil, and melted warm butter or margarine.
- 4
Step 4
Then add the flour in portions.
- 5
Step 5
Knead a soft, slightly sticky, pliable dough. Shape it into a ball, cover the bowl with a towel, and leave it in a warm place for about an hour.
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Step 6
Grate the cheese on the coarse side of a grater. Grate the butter the same way. Add the white of one egg and mix everything well with a spoon. I did not add salt; adjust to your own taste and to how salty the cheese is.
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Step 7
To make khachapuri nicely browned and glossy, prepare a glaze for them. Mix the leftover egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
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Step 8
The risen dough should have almost doubled in size; punch it down with your hand.
- 9
Step 9
Divide into two equal parts and shape into a ball.
- 10
Step 10
Roll each ball into a flat piece of dough. Roll the flat dough so that you can comfortably place the filling on it and pinch it closed. For one pie approximately 30 cm in diameter, you need 350 grams of cheese.
- 11
Step 11
Gather the edges of the flatbread toward the center and pinch them together tightly.
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Step 12
Turn over and gently knead with your hands, shaping into a round so the filling spreads evenly. You can roll it out with a rolling pin, but I didn’t use one. If you’ll be baking on a special mat or paper, you can transfer the shaped piece onto it and knead it right there.
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Step 13
Armenian homemakers bake khachapuri in a special stone or clay pan (ketsi); I’m going to bake mine on a baking sheet. You can grease the sheet with oil or simply dust it with flour—I use a baking mat. To keep the khachapuri from puffing up, prick the top with a fork or pierce it with a knife. Brush with the glaze you made earlier and bake in the oven at 230–250 °C until the crust is an attractive golden brown. Mine took about 20 minutes.
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Step 14
While the first pie is baking, prepare the second one the same way.
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Step 15
Flatbreads with cheese are always delicious, and khachapuri made with this recipe is pure bliss!
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Step 16
Remove from the oven and serve warm or cooled.