A canoe-shaped white bread with pointed ends, baked stuck to the wall of a hot clay tone oven so it puffs blistered and chewy with a crisp underside. The everyday bread of the Georgian table.
Shoti is the daily bread of Georgia, traditionally baked in a tone, a deep round clay oven into whose glowing walls the wet dough is slapped to bake in minutes. Kakheti is regarded as its homeland, and the bread's distinctive elongated shape with pointed tips is recognized across the country.
Tear into it warm and the crust shatters thin and crisp while the inside is pillowy, chewy, and faintly tangy from the long rise. Blistered char marks add a whisper of smoke. It is plain, fresh, and perfect for scooping up stews and cheese.
The intense radiant heat of the clay wall flash-sets the crust and creates oven spring, while the high humidity inside the tone keeps the crumb moist and chewy and the dough's slow fermentation builds flavor.
Variations
Topped with sesame; rounder dedis puri loaf shape; whole-grain versions; sometimes brushed with butter.
On the Palate
Where Shoti sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 110 min
Dissolve yeast in warm water and mix with flour and salt into a soft dough.
- 215 min
Knead until smooth and elastic, then cover and let rise until doubled.
Watch outKnead until the dough turns smooth and springs back when poked — slack dough won't puff or blister in the oven.
- 35 min
Divide and shape each piece into a long oval with tapered, pointed ends.
- 410 min
Press a slit or dimple into the center and let rest briefly.
- 515 min
Heat the oven (or a clay tone) as hot as possible.
Watch outGet the oven or clay tone screaming hot before the bread goes in — a weak oven bakes it pale and flat instead of puffed.
- 612 min
Bake the breads against the hot surface or on a stone until puffed and golden-blistered.
Watch outWatch for it to balloon up and go golden with charred blisters — those dark spots are the sign of a properly hot bake.
- 73 min
Watch for the bottom to crisp and the top to color.
- 82 min
Pull off the wall and eat warm, ideally within the hour.
