Georgian · bread

Khachapuri Megruli (Megrelian Cheese Bread)

Khachapuri Megruli (Megrelian Cheese Bread) reads richness 6.6, salinity 5.2 and funk & ferment 3.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Georgian bread, about 2 hr 15 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.2 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.0 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 0.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 6.6 · Salinity 5.2 · Funk & Ferment 3.5 · Sourness 3.2 · Umami 3.2 · Sweetness 2.0 · Nutty 1.3 · Fruity 0.5 · Floral 0.5

What's in it (13)

• all-purpose flour — 500 g
• matsoni — 250 g
• yeast — 7 g
• egg — 100 g
• salt — 8 g
• unsalted butter — 40 g
• sulguni — 600 g
• sulguni — 200 g
• egg yolk — 100 g
• water — 5 g
• unsalted butter — 30 g
• salt — 3 g
• sunflower oil — 14 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 15 min (45 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 125.7 kcal, 4.6 g protein, 5.6 g fat, 21.1 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

1. Mix the flour, matsoni, yeast, egg, 8 g salt and the softened butter and knead 10 minutes to a soft, slightly tacky dough.
2. Oil a bowl, turn the dough in it, cover and leave to rise 90 minutes until doubled.
3. Squeeze the 600 g of grated sulguni with the 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl until it clumps into a mass. Sulguni is the point of this bread: it is a young pulled-curd cheese, springy and lightly sour, and it melts into ropes rather than a puddle. Imeretian khachapuri uses imeruli cheese and stops at a filled round; the Megrelian one puts cheese inside and then a second layer on top, and that crown is the whole difference.
4. Divide the dough in two. Flatten one piece into a 25 cm round, mound half the salted cheese in the middle, gather the edges over it and pinch tightly closed.
5. Turn seam down and press out gently to a round about 26 cm across, keeping the cheese evenly spread and the edge slightly thicker.
6. Scatter half the reserved 200 g of cheese over the surface, right to the rim.
7. Brush the exposed rim with the egg yolk wash.
8. Bake at 250C for 12 to 14 minutes, until the base is brown and crisp underneath and the cheese on top has blistered and gone patchy gold.
9. Brush with the finishing butter and let it settle 3 minutes before cutting, or the cheese runs straight out. Repeat with the second piece.
10. Substitutions: plain full-fat yogurt can stand in for the matsoni.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Tiropita — Greek
• Пастрмајлија (Pastrmajlija) — Macedonian
• Biscuits — Southern
• Mangú con Los Tres Golpes — Dominican
• Elarji — Georgian

Keep reading: what richness, salinity, funk & ferment mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.