Baked and breads
Imeretian khachapuri
The everyday round Georgian cheese bread, closed and filled with fresh imeruli cheese, eaten in wedges.
Imeretian khachapuri, imeruli khachapuri, is the simplest and most common khachapuri in Georgia: a flat, round bread with a filling of fresh, slightly sour imeruli cheese sealed inside, cooked on a pan or baked, and cut into wedges. It is sold in every bakery and made at home for any meal.
What goes in
- Imeruli744%, Crumbled fresh cheese.
- Dough638%, Made with matsoni or yeast.
- Egg16%, Binds the filling.
- Butter213%, Brushed on top.
Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.
Made step by step
Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.
Step 1: Knead Make a soft dough with matsoni or yeast and let it rest. Step 2: Grate Crumble the cheese and mix it with a little egg. Step 3: Fill Flatten a ball of dough, place a ball of cheese in the centre and gather the edges over it. Step 4: Knead Press gently into a flat round so the cheese spreads to the edges. Step 5: Bake Cook in a dry pan or bake until golden on both sides. Step 6: Serve Brush with butter and cut into wedges. Finished Imeretian khachapuri, by share.
The everyday bread
Imereti, in western Georgia around Kutaisi, gives its name both to the bread and to the cheese inside it. Imeretian khachapuri is the version most Georgians eat day to day, at breakfast, as a snack or on the long tables of a supra, the Georgian feast. Megrelian khachapuri, from the neighbouring region, is the same bread with more cheese spread on top.
The cheese
Imeruli cheese is a young cow's milk cheese, lightly brined, crumbly and mildly sour. It melts but does not stretch much. Outside Georgia, cooks often imitate it with a mix of mozzarella and feta or farmer cheese. The dough is often made with matsoni, Georgian yoghurt, which keeps the bread soft. It is best eaten warm.
Where it is used
The cheeses in it
Also part of it, and being written: Imeruli (The fresh cheese of Imereti.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.