From Adjara on the Black Sea coastGeorgian cuisine • Bread and cheese • Technique and safety

Adjarian Khachapuri at Home: A Georgian Cheese Boat with a Safer Egg Finish

A culturally grounded guide to Georgia’s Adjarian cheese boat, with a workable dough, transparent cheese substitutions and two clearly separated egg-safety finishes.

Published 23 August 202612-minute readYummy Food Editorial

Real photograph of boat-shaped Adjarian khachapuri filled with cheese and egg in Batumi, Georgia — Adjarian khachapuri in Batumi, Georgia — photograph by Proofofwork, 7 August 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. The image is unmodified. Wikimedia Commons ↗

Adjarian khachapuri arrives like a dough boat: curled sides, molten cheese in the centre, then egg and butter stirred together before the bread’s edges are torn off for dipping. The shape is memorable, but it does not define every khachapuri in Georgia. Georgia’s official tourism site documents many regional forms, including enclosed Imeretian rounds, cheese-topped Megrelian versions and the open Adjarian boat associated with the coastal region of Adjara.

This Yummy Food recipe keeps that Adjarian logic while making its adaptations visible. When Imeretian cheese and sulguni are unavailable in Saudi Arabia, low-moisture mozzarella supplies stretch and pasteurised feta supplies tang and salt. The result is a functional home substitute, not relabelled Georgian cheese. The egg also requires a deliberate safety choice because the customary soft centre is undercooked.

Khachapuri is a family, not one fixed recipe

Georgia Travel presents khachapuri as a symbol of Georgian food without reducing it to one format. Imeretian khachapuri encloses the cheese; Megrelian khachapuri adds cheese on top; Adjarian khachapuri leaves a boat-shaped centre open for cheese, egg and butter. Regional difference is therefore part of the subject, not an error to correct.

The official page also repeats a popular story linking the boat to Laz sailors and fishermen and the egg to the sun over the sea. It is responsibly framed as a story that is told, not as documentary proof. What current official descriptions establish more directly is the dish’s connection with Adjara and Batumi and the practice of mixing the hot cheese, soft egg and butter before eating.

A substitution should imitate function, not borrow a name

The official Georgian recipe calls for lightly salted Imeretian cheese and sulguni. Low-moisture mozzarella melts and stretches; feta contributes salt and acidity. Together they help a Saudi home cook understand the filling’s job, but they do not become Georgian cheese. Start with less feta when the brand is assertively salty.

Buy refrigerated cheese in intact packaging and check that any feta or other soft cheese is made from pasteurised milk. Keep the filling chilled while the dough rises. The dough should be supple rather than sweet: enough rest lets it stretch, and a firm rolled rim keeps cheese inside without leaving a thick band of raw bread.

A soft egg is a safety decision, not only decoration

Georgia Travel describes the centre as soft egg mixed into cheese and butter. The FDA, however, advises cooking eggs until yolk and white are firm and cooking egg dishes to 71°C/160°F. When a recipe will be served with raw or undercooked egg, FDA and USDA advise using pasteurised shell eggs or pasteurised egg products.

Our method therefore separates two routes. The conservative route bakes until the egg is firm and its centre reaches 71°C. The soft-centre route uses only an egg explicitly labelled pasteurised and is served immediately. Children, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with weakened immunity should take the fully cooked route. This is general safety information, not personalised medical advice.

Heat, shape and the bottom crust

A very hot oven helps the base set before the cheese dries out. Preheat a heavy inverted tray or a baking stone designed for that heat, and form each boat on baking paper so it does not need to be lifted after filling. Keep the centre open, roll both long sides inward, then pinch the tips firmly.

Do not taste raw dough. FDA notes that flour is a raw food and may carry germs that only cooking destroys. Wash hands and surfaces after handling flour and eggs, and clean the thermometer between uses. Serve the khachapuri as soon as it leaves the oven; long holding diminishes the crust, cheese and egg together.

Yummy Food Test Kitchen

Four small home-style Adjarian boats

A home interpretation based on Georgia’s official method. Use Georgian cheeses when available, or name the transparent substitute rather than presenting it as identical.

Time: About 2 hours
Yield: 4 small boats
Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

500 g bread flour or all-purpose flour
7 g instant yeast
10 g sugar
8 g fine salt
300 ml lukewarm water, plus 1–2 tbsp if needed
2 tbsp neutral oil
300 g grated low-moisture mozzarella
200 g pasteurised-milk feta, crumbled; use less if very salty
4 eggs: pasteurised in shell for a soft finish, or standard eggs cooked to 71°C
40 g butter, divided into four pieces
A little flour for the surface and baking paper

Method

01
Mix flour, yeast and sugar. Add water, oil and salt, then knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, soft and no longer flowing. Never taste the raw dough.
02
Cover and leave in a moderate place for 60–75 minutes, until clearly expanded. Keep cheese and eggs refrigerated while waiting.
03
Heat the oven to 240°C with a heavy inverted tray or oven-safe baking stone inside. Mix mozzarella and feta; taste only the untouched cheese mixture, never filling that has contacted raw egg.
04
Divide dough into four. On baking paper, stretch each piece to an oval about 25 cm long. Spread cheese through the centre, roll both long sides inward and pinch the tips into a boat.
05
Slide the boats and paper onto the hot surface. Bake 10–12 minutes until the rims colour and the cheese bubbles. Remove carefully and make a shallow well in each centre.
06
For the fully cooked route, crack in the eggs and return to the oven until whites and yolks are firm and the egg centre reaches 71°C. For a soft centre, use only clearly labelled pasteurised eggs and bake until the white partly sets, then serve immediately.
07
Add one piece of butter to each boat. Tell guests which egg route was used, then mix the centre before eating in the common Adjarian manner.

Sensible substitutions

If pasteurised Imeretian cheese and sulguni are available, they are closer to the official description; adjust for their salt rather than following the substitute ratio blindly.
Whole-milk mozzarella plus a milder pasteurised white cheese can replace feta; acidity and texture will change.
For an egg-free adaptation, bake cheese and butter only and describe it as a home variation, not a complete traditional Adjarian version.

Allergen and dietary note

This recipe contains wheat/gluten, milk and egg. Check cheese and yeast labels when managing a severe allergy.
Removing cheese or egg after baking does not prevent cross-contact; use separate tools and a separate surface when required.
Products vary, so this article offers no nutrition calculation or personal health recommendation.

Quick safety check

Never taste raw dough; clean scattered flour and work surfaces after kneading.
Use cheese made from pasteurised milk and keep cheese and eggs chilled until needed.
For a soft yolk or white, use only pasteurised egg; otherwise cook until firm and 71°C at the centre.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat until steaming hot, understanding that the texture will change.

Editorial verification

Sources and verification

Yummy Food reviewed Georgian National Tourism Administration pages, FDA and USDA safety guidance, and the image licence record on 23 August 2026. Regional forms and serving practice are attributed facts; cheese substitutions, sizing and oven choices are declared editorial adaptations.

Affiliate links

Two tools relevant to this method

General search links with no price, availability or paid-ranking claims.

01Digital food thermometer

For checking the egg centre rather than relying on surface appearance alone; follow calibration and cleaning instructions.

Search Amazon.sa ↗02Stainless-steel bench scraper

Useful for dividing the dough evenly and lifting it without adding excessive flour.

Search Amazon.sa ↗

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