Cheese, more cheese and a bit extra on top too. This is my favorite Khachapuri bread recipe. Khachapuri is the ultimate bread for cheese lovers. It’s perfect as a starter, appetizer, or side, and it's great on its own too. No party or holiday meal in this household goes without Khachapuri - cheese bread. Since it take a while to knead the dough and bake it, I ususally bake a large tray the day before the dinner party, and keep it in the fridge to warm up the next day.
I use this dough a lot - for Khachapuri, potato or beef turnovers, even for cinnamon rolls. Takes 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour to rise, but can rest on the countertop until ready to bake.
Dough ingredients (makes 1 large 10" x 13"):
1 cup warm milk
1 tsp instant yeast
2 eggs, 1 for dough and 1 to glaze
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
2 to 3 cups of flour
Cheese:
1 pound soft Mozarella cheese, grated
1 pound Fresh Mexican cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
Dough
Step 1: Mix yeast in warm milk and let rest for a few minutes. Then whisk in 1 egg and salt and start adding sifted flour, mixing and kneading with a wooden spoon. Then add oil and knead anotehr 5-10 minutes.
Step 2: Cover the bowl with dough with kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour. Dough is ready!
Step 3: In a large bowl, combine the grated cheese with salt and set aside.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 375F and start assembling the cheese bread to bake. Split the dough in half and toll out on the parchement paper. Place half of the cheese in the middle and gently pinch the sides together, leaving a small open space in the middle. Move the parchment paper to the baking tray and flatten the bread out to fit the shape of the 9 x 13 tray (I like the Nordic Ware trays). Brush with the whisked egg yolk and sprinkle over a bit of cheese. Bake at 375F for 22-25 minutes.
Filling tip: combination of mozzarella and fresh Mexican cheese is the best, but a bit of added feta and cottage cheese in the mix is good too. Once baked it freezes super well too!