Easy Cheesy Black Truffle Khachapuri

I've been blessed with a whole lotta cheese during this shelter in place, but I am not really a snacker (only when my mood calls for it) so it's been hard for us to get through it all! When thinking about bigger meals to maximize our cheese intake, I was reminded of two meals: a brunch at Noosh (San Francisco) and a Feastly dinner featuring a Georgian menu.

That's where khachapuri comes in because I remembered it combined 3 of my favorite things: bread, cheese, and egg. Plus, you literally garnish it with a pat of butter, and I support following your dreams like that.

I followed Saveur's recipe to make the dough, but added my own tweaks to fit my schedule and what I had on hand! For example, I made the dough the night before because I wanted it for breakfast/brunch. Otherwise, you’d need to prep this at least 1.5 hours in advance in case your dough takes longer to rise.

I also thought the Chevoo goat cheese and olive oil was great for this (not sponsored by them btw!) because it gave me 2 ingredients in 1 jar. Lastly, I normally use a regular oven but I’m currently working with a convection oven these days, so I changed the cooking time too.

Easy Cheesy Black Truffle Khachapuri

Makes 2 servings

Dough Ingredients:

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil (from Chevoo Black Truffle Goat Cheese)
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
¾ instant dry yeast
¼ tsp sugar
⅔ cup warm water

For the filling:

2 cups shredded cheese (I used a ½ and ½ mix of Rumiano's dry jack and peppercorn cheeses)
1 container Chevoo Black Truffle Goat Cheese (or any other black truffle cheese you like/can find)
2 eggs
1 tbsp butter (sliced in half)
2 ½ tbsp olive oil (from the Chevoo container)

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the flour, olive oil, salt, sugar, yeast, and water. Slowly mix until you get a ball of dough that is still slightly sticky but has all the ingredients incorporated. If it is sticking to your hands a lot, sprinkle more flour on it — it should sort of feel like pizza dough.
Brush a bowl with some olive oil and put the dough ball in. Cover it and let it rise until about double in size. If not baking immediately, put in the fridge and take out the next day, letting it sit for 1 hr to come back to temperature.
Shred your cheese and crack 2 eggs in a separate bowl — try to keep the yolks intact!
Sprinkle some flour on your table and take your dough out of the bowl. Cut it in half and start rolling one of the halves out in a thin circle.
Once rolled out, put on a thin layer of cheese (about ½ a cup). Roll the sides of your dough over like you're making cinnamon rolls, and stop once you have a 4-5 inch space in the middle.
Pinch the sides together and twist to form little knobs and so your cheese and bread make little dough boat.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with some oil (canola or olive oil is fine). Carefully move the boat to a baking sheet.
Add more shredded cheese to the middle (do not go above the walls you made with your dough) and then use your hands to break down the Chevoo cheese to dot the surface. Do not worry if you have cheese left over from all of this!
Repeat on the other half of your dough and then brush the top of your doughs with some olive oil from the Chevoo goat cheese jar.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and bake your khachapuris for 10-11 minutes (convection oven) or 14-15 minutes (regular oven).
Once the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, you can take the baking sheet out to add your eggs. Bake for another 3 minutes or until the whites have set and remove the sheet from the oven.
Dot your khachapuri with more black truffle cheese (throw some truffle shavings on there if you have some), and then add the ½ tbsp of butter.