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Georgian table breadNo yeast

Hot cheese pull

Cheese-Pull Khachapuri

A fast imeruli-style khachapuri with yogurt dough, a salty-creamy cheese center, and the kind of hot cheese pull that deserves to be torn open at the table.

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Round Georgian khachapuri on a table with tea and small dishes.
Imeruli-style khachapuri is the quieter cousin of the famous boat-shaped version: sealed, round, and built for tearing while hot.Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0
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Prep
20 min, plus 30 min rest
Cook
15 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Serves
4 to 6 servings

Khachapuri does not need a viral hook; it already has one built in. A sealed round of tender bread lands on the table, gets brushed with butter, then opens into a salty, creamy cheese center that everyone reaches for at once.

This version follows the Guardian's practical home-kitchen route: no yeast, no rare Georgian cheese hunt, and no complicated shaping. The trick is to keep the dough soft, the filling cold enough to grate, and the first cut dramatically hot.

“From the dough to the molten, gooey filling, this Guardian recipe works through a practical way to make Georgia's indulgent cheese-stuffed bread at home.”

No yeast, still soft

Yogurt and bicarbonate of soda keep the dough quick, tender, and ready after a short rest.

Seal first, roll second

The filling gets wrapped like a dumpling, then flattened into a round so every slice carries cheese.

Serve immediately

The cheese pull is a small window: butter, cut, and get it to the table while the center is molten.

Taste compassButter, tang, pull

Molten

94%

Port Salut brings creaminess while halloumi gives salt and pull.

Blistered

74%

A hot tray or dry pan browns the outside before the dough toughens.

Tangy

62%

Yogurt in the dough keeps the bread lively and lightly sour.

Snackable

88%

Cut it into wedges, put it in the middle, and watch it disappear.

Cook roadmapRest, seal, blister

Build the cheese pull in just over an hour

Most of the time is passive dough rest; the actual cooking is fast enough to wait until everyone is near the table.

  1. 0:00

    Make the yogurt dough

    Mix flour, bicarb, salt, yogurt, and cooled butter into a soft dough.

  2. 0:05

    Rest and grate

    Give the dough 30 minutes while you grate the cold cheeses.

  3. 0:35

    Fill and seal

    Pile cheese in the center, gather the edges, and pinch the parcel closed.

  4. 0:43

    Flatten gently

    Ease the parcel into a broad round without forcing cheese through the seam.

  5. 0:50

    Bake or pan-cook

    Cook until the bread is browned and the center has gone fully molten.

  6. 1:05

    Butter and break

    Brush with butter and serve at once for the full cheese-pull effect.

Visual notesRound, sealed, molten

The less famous khachapuri shape is the one built for sharing.

Slices of Georgian khachapuri cheese bread on a plate.
The goal is a bread thin enough to blister, but strong enough to keep the cheese sealed inside.Photo by Jon Gudorf Photography · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kitchen truth

Do not chase perfect symmetry. A firmly sealed, gently flattened round matters more than a flawless circle.

Pan or oven

The pan gives dramatic spots; the oven is easier for a fragile first attempt. Both should finish with butter.

Steam timing

For the oven, vent before baking. For the pan, wait until after the flip so the cheese stays inside.

Ingredient editCreamy plus salty

The grocery-store cheese swap

Traditional Georgian cheeses can be hard to source, so this recipe uses a high-confidence pairing that melts, seasons, and stretches.

01

Port Salut

A mild, creamy stand-in for Georgian cheese that melts into the filling.

Grate it straight from the fridge; once it warms up, it gets sticky.
02

Halloumi

Adds salt, chew, and structure so the filling does not collapse into pure cream.

Taste before adding extra salt because halloumi varies wildly.
03

Natural yogurt

Hydrates the dough and brings enough tang to keep the bread from tasting flat.

Avoid thick Greek-style yogurt unless you loosen it first.

No-yeast cheese-pull khachapuri

A quick imeruli-style Georgian cheese bread with yogurt dough, Port Salut, halloumi, and a buttered finish.

GeorgianKhachapuriCheese BreadNo YeastSnack

Ingredients

Yogurt dough

  • 200 grams plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 125 grams natural yogurt, not Greek-style strained yogurt
  • 45 grams butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing and finishing

Cheese filling

  • 100 grams cold Port Salut, or another mild creamy cheese
  • 150 grams halloumi, grated
  • Salt and pepper, optional

Directions

  1. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt into a large bowl.
  2. Stir in the yogurt, then mix in the cooled melted butter until the dough is smooth, soft, and damp without feeling gluey.
  3. Cover the bowl and rest the dough for 30 minutes. It will not rise much, but the rest makes it easier to roll and seal.
  4. While the dough rests, grate both cheeses. Keep the creamy cheese cold until grating so it is easier to handle.
  5. Combine the cheeses in a bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper only if the filling needs it.
  6. For oven cooking, heat the oven to 220C / 200C fan / 425F with a lightly buttered baking tray inside.
  7. Roll the rested dough on a barely floured surface into a circle about 5 millimeters thick.
  8. Mound the cheese in the center, leaving a wide clean border of dough all the way around.
  9. Pull opposite edges of the dough up and over the cheese, pinch them together, then keep gathering and sealing the border until the filling is fully enclosed.
  10. Flatten the sealed parcel gently with your hands, then use a rolling pin to ease it into a 25 to 30 centimeter round.
  11. If baking, cut a small steam hole in the top, slide the bread onto the hot greased tray, and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden.
  12. If cooking in a pan, set a frying pan over medium heat, add the bread, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the underside is spotted brown.
  13. Flip carefully, using a plate if helpful, then cook the second side until browned and the filling is hot.
  14. If the pan-cooked bread balloons after it has been flipped, nick a small steam hole in the top. Do not cut it earlier or the cheese may leak.
  15. Brush the top and sides with melted butter and serve immediately while the center is still molten.

Image credits

Photography is used under open licenses with attribution: Vyacheslav Argenberg and Jon Gudorf Photography.