Fans of Caucasian cuisine know firsthand about the excellent taste of Adjarian khachapuri. A large boat-shaped cake with sides, stuffed with cheese, eggs, butter, is great for a snack with friends or family, as it is very nutritious. To prepare this dish, cooks use different types of dough, experiment with the filling, the shape of the product. As a result, each option turns out to be interesting and appetizing in its own way.
Secrets of making dough
The Adjarian dish differs from ordinary khachapuri in that it remains open. It is presented in the shape of a boat with a delicious cheese filling in the middle. Yeast, puff pastry is suitable for cooking the product. It can be made by hand or purchased from a store. However, in the classic version, Adjarian-style khachapuri is baked from yogurt-based dough. This is a Caucasian fermented milk product. If necessary, it is replaced with yogurt, kefir, sour cream or other semi-liquid dairy products with sourness, which can be bought at the nearest store.
On a note.Khachapuri on yogurt has a soft and delicate structure. However, the cooled flour tortilla loses its pleasant taste on the second day. The product on yeast dough also turns out to be soft, airy. It is pleasant to eat it cold on the second and even third day.
According to the classical method, for the preparation of Adjarian khachapuri are used: eggs, yogurt, granulated sugar, salt, soda, and flour. The dough shouldn't be tough. Therefore, use a small amount of flour according to the recipe. As a result, a slightly sticky mass should form, slightly sticking to the fingers. The raw dough is left in a warm place for 15 minutes under a towel. After the specified time, the product begins to be molded.
Other recipes use yeast dough, which includes heated milk or water, sugar, sand, flour, vegetable oil and loose yeast. Knead the flour mass for about 10-15 minutes and put it in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours. After that, flour boats are prepared for the future Adjarian khachapuri. The process of making puff pastry is longer, requiring free time, effort and culinary skills. Therefore, housewives often purchase the product from the store. Puff khachapuri are crumbly, tender and pleasantly crunchy in the mouth.
The subtleties of choosing cheese
Various cheeses are suitable for the filling. Most importantly, the choice is made from fresh and younger varieties. If you eat mature cheeses, they begin to stretch, and when cooled down, they change their structure and become unpleasant to the taste. A good choice for the filling can be such varieties as mozzarella, feta cheese, Imeritinsky, Adyghe cheeses. They are mixed for a more interesting and rich filling taste.
On a note. If the cheese is salty, it is immersed in cold water, soaked for several hours. It is recommended to divide the product into small pieces to reduce the soaking time by half. After that, curd mass is added to the cheese. This makes the filling softer and tastier. Experienced chefs complement the cheese and curd mixture with an egg. It makes the mass homogeneous and gives it tenderness.
In more modern recipes, grated garlic and finely chopped herbs are added to the filling. Professional bakers believe that the main secret of Adjarian khachapuri is the proportion of the base and cheese-curd mass. The filling should be slightly larger than the dough. In this case, the cheese is not crushed through a grater. The product is broken by hand or with a spoon.
The nuances of forming a boat
The raw dough is divided into small koloboks the size of a fist. Some chefs bake khachapuri on one large baking sheet and after cooking divide the pie into portions. For crispy cakes, the dough is rolled out in a thin layer. To make the khachapuri soft, withstand the thickness of the dough of 1 cm and roll it into a layer, giving the shape of a boat with sides. Spread the cheese filling at the bottom of the cake and leave it on the side for 10 minutes. During this time, the oven is preheated to 200 degrees.
On a note. If there are problems with the oven, Adjarian khachapuri can be baked in a pan using a little oil. Choose a moderate fire for baking so that the base of the boat does not darken prematurely.
Before sending the cake to the oven, grease its sides with egg yolk. The tortilla with cheese is baked for 20-30 minutes. Then they take out a form with khachapuri, pour an egg into its center (if you wish, you can use 2 eggs), trying not to disturb the integrity of the yolk. Next, the pie is sent back to the hot oven and the eggs are ready. They take out the khachapuri, put butter in cubes in the middle and start tasting.