Boat-shaped Georgian cheese bread from Adjara, finished with raw egg yolk and butter melt. The single Georgian bread that traveled the world.
From the Black Sea port region of Adjara in southwestern Georgia, where the boat shape evokes a fishing skiff and the egg-yolk sun the seafarer's hope. Standardized in Batumi cafes by the 1930s; pushed onto the global stage when Georgian restaurants opened in Moscow, then New York (Chama Mama, 2017) and London.
The Adjarian Khachapuri Festival in Batumi, held every July since 2017, draws 50,000+ visitors; the official festival recipe specifies sulguni and imeruli cheeses in equal weight, no substitutes. UNESCO listed the Georgian khachapuri-making tradition as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019.
An oval bread boat brimming with melted cheese, a knob of butter, and a runny egg yolk. Stir at the table; tear off pieces of the crust and use them to scoop up the molten center.
The yolk is added off the oven and tempered by the residual heat — too long and it sets; too short and it stays raw. The cheese-butter mixture needs to be just below boiling so the yolk thickens without curdling.
Variations
Modern Tbilisi restaurants sometimes split the boat in two for plating drama; traditional Batumi versions keep it whole and let the diner do the work — restaurant versus home.
On the Palate
Where Khachapuri Adjaruli sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 31 min active + 1 hour 15 min waiting
- 115 min
Mix 400 g flour, 200 ml warm water, 30 ml olive oil, 5 g yeast, 5 g salt; knead 8 min.
- 260 min
First rise 1 hour.
- 35 min
Mix filling: 250 g sulguni + 100 g imeretian cheese, grated.
- 48 min
Shape dough into an oval; fold both long edges inward to form a boat hull.
Watch outFold both long edges inward and pinch the ends into points so it holds a true boat shape.
- 53 min
Fill center with the cheese mixture.
- 612 min
Bake at 250 °C for 10–12 min until cheese melts and bread browns.
Watch outBake until the cheese bubbles and the bread edges turn deep golden.
- 71 min
Pull from oven; crack a raw egg yolk into the molten center; add a knob of butter.
Watch outCrack the yolk into the hottest center the moment it's out; the residual heat does the cooking.
- 82 min
Return to oven 1 min to set yolk slightly; eat by tearing bread edges to dip in molten center.
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