Ajarski khachapuri — also called Adjaruli khachapuri — is the version of the iconic Georgian cheese bread that has taken the world by storm. Shaped like a boat, it's filled with a bubbling mixture of molten cheese, finished with a raw egg cracked right into the center, and topped with a generous pat of butter. You tear the crust, dip it into the molten filling, and eat it immediately. There is nothing like it. It's deeply beloved across the South Caucasus and has been a staple in Armenian homes and restaurants for generations.
What Makes Ajarski Different
There are many styles of khachapuri — the round pan-fried Imeruli, the stuffed Megruli — but Ajarski is the showstopper. The boat shape isn't just for looks. It creates a vessel that holds the filling while the edges bake into a puffy, golden crust perfect for tearing and dipping. The filling is traditionally made from sulguni cheese — a brined, stretchy Georgian cheese — but a combination of mozzarella and feta works beautifully and is much easier to find. The egg yolk, stirred into the molten cheese at the table, makes the whole filling silky and rich.
Khachapuri is one of those dishes that looks impressive but is surprisingly forgiving. Once you've made it once, it becomes effortless.
Ingredients
For the dough (makes 2 large khachapuri): 2¼ tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, ¾ cup warm water, 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp plain yogurt (or sour cream), 1 tbsp olive oil.
For the cheese filling: 1½ cups low-moisture mozzarella (shredded), ¾ cup feta cheese (crumbled), 1 egg (beaten, mixed into the cheese), pinch of salt. If you can find sulguni, use it in place of mozzarella — it's the traditional choice and melts perfectly.
To finish: 2 eggs (one per khachapuri, cracked in at the end), 2 tbsp butter, flaky salt.
How to Make It
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water and let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy. In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture, yogurt, and olive oil. Mix until a soft dough forms, then knead for 6–8 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled.
Make the filling
Mix the shredded mozzarella, crumbled feta, and beaten egg together. Taste — it should be pleasantly salty from the feta. Set aside.
Shape the boats
Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with a baking stone or heavy baking sheet inside. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into an oval roughly 10–12 inches long. Place half the cheese filling down the center of each oval, leaving a 2-inch border. Roll the long edges up and over the filling toward the center, then pinch and twist the ends to form the boat shape — the filling should be visible in the center, contained within the dough walls.
Bake
Carefully slide the boats onto the hot baking sheet. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the crust is golden and puffed and the cheese is fully melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven, make a small well in the center of the cheese, and crack one egg into each boat. Return to the oven for 3–4 minutes — the white should be just set but the yolk still runny.
Finish and serve
Remove from the oven, add a pat of butter to each boat, and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve immediately. To eat: stir the egg yolk and butter into the molten cheese, tear off pieces of the crust, and dip. Eat directly from the boat. This is not a fork-and-knife dish.
Tips
The yogurt in the dough matters. It adds a slight tang and a softness that makes the crust tender inside and crispy outside. Don't skip it — sour cream works too if that's what you have.
Get the oven screaming hot. Khachapuri needs high heat to puff and char properly. If your oven runs cool, crank it as high as it goes and preheat for at least 30 minutes. A preheated baking stone makes a significant difference.
Don't overbake the egg. The yolk should still be runny when you take it out — it will continue cooking from residual heat. Runny yolk mixed into the cheese is what makes the filling silky and cohesive. A fully cooked yolk turns it grainy.
Sulguni substitute. If you can find sulguni at a Russian or Armenian market, use it — roughly 2 cups total, shredded. The flavor is more complex and the melt is perfect. The mozzarella-feta combo is a great workaround but sulguni is the real thing.
Make it smaller. For a mezze spread or party, divide the dough into 4 pieces and make smaller individual boats. Reduce baking time to about 10 minutes, then 2 minutes for the egg.