When it comes to Georgian cheese breads, khachapuri tends to reign supreme. There are countless styles of this cheese-stuffed bread hailing from various regions of Georgia, but there are more stuffed breads than just khachapuri!
Of course, there is lobiani (bean-stuffed bread) and kubdari (bread stuffed with minced meat) but one of my absolute favourites is pkhlovani.
Also sometimes known as mkhlovani, this bread is stuffed with cheese along with cooked-down spinach, chard and herbs. Something like a Georgian spanakopita, it’s super delicious and really fun to make at home!
How to Make Georgian Pkhlovani
The process of making pkhlovani isn’t too different from making any kind of khachapuri, as it’s basically just an imeruli khachapuri with the addition of greens.
So to begin, you need to make the dough. This is a simple, enriched dough that is very easy to work with and bakes up to be super soft and pillowy – perfect for a stuffed bread.
Add a bit of milk to a small saucepan along with a bit of butter. Set it over medium heat and stir just until the butter melts. Then, pour it into a large mixing bowl – or the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one.
To the milk, add one egg and one egg yolk. The addition of an extra yolk aids in a soft and pliable texture of the dough without adding too much extra hydration.
Whisk the eggs into the milk and then add some bread flour along with a bit of yeast.
Use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment – or a wooden spoon or a flexible spatula – to mix just until the flour is combined with the mixture and no dry spots remain.
Then, go ahead and cover the bowl and let it rest for fifteen minutes. This allows the gluten to begin to develop and the flour to hydrate more efficiently.
Once the dough has rested, add some salt and knead it in until it’s well combined. Now, if you’re making the dough by hand, turn it out onto a clean work surface and knead it for about 15 minutes. If you’re using a stand mixer, knead on medium speed for 8-10 minutes.
These times are approximate; you’ll know when the dough is ready when it passes the windopane test. Pinch off a bit of dough and stretch it between your fingers. The dough should stretch into a thin, translucent sheet that lets light pass through without tearing.
And if you’re kneading by hand, resist the urge to add more flour unless the dough is unmanageably sticky.
Gather the dough into a tight ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour (but it could be more depending on the temperature of the room).
This is a good time to make the filling, which is super simple. Add a bit of oil to a skillet and set it over medium heat.
Once shimmering, add some chopped Swiss chard and a generous pinch of salt. Cook until the chard is very wilted and has shrunk significantly, only a few minutes, before adding some spinach and green onions.
Cook this until it’s also wilted and tender, then stir in a bit of minced garlic and cook only for 30 seconds longer. Add the greens to a bowl.
To the same bowl in your cheese. If you’re able to get your hands on it, use a mixture of sulguni and imeruli cheese.
However, I’ve found that a 1:1 swap of low-moisture mozzarella and feta works just as well. I also like adding a bit of cottage cheese and I think that is helps give it a nice tang and silky consistency. I also like to add in some chopped fresh cilantro at this point.
Stir all of this to combine and then set aside.
Once your dough has risen, it’s time to roll it out. Very lightly flour a work surface (try not to use too much flour, this can make it difficult to seal the pkhlovani when the time comes) and turn your dough out, pressing gently to deflate it.
Roll the dough out until it’s a large circle of about 5mm (roughly ¼ in) thick. Then, pile the filling into the centre of the circle, leaving a generous border.
Fold that border over the filling, pinching to seal it completely. Use your rolling pin to roll over the pkhlovani to expand it further, until it’s about 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in diameter.
Place the pastry on a lined baking tray and let it rest for about 30 minutes, or until it’s lightly puffed. Then go ahead and move it to a 200°C/400°F and bake it until it’s puffed, golden and crisp – this will take about 20-25 minutes.
I like to let it rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it as this allows the cheese to set a bit while not letting it cool down too much.
Pkhlovani (Khachapuri with Spinach)
Ingredients
Dough
- 90 ml (6 tbsp) whole milk
- 25 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 250 g (2 cups) bread flour
- 4 g (1 ⅓ tsp) instant yeast
- 5 g (1 tsp) salt (see note 1)
Filling
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 100 g (1 ½ cups) Swiss chard stripped from stems & roughly chopped
- 50 g (1 ½ cups) baby spinach
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 100 g (1 cup) sulguni cheese or low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (see note 4)
- 75 g (⅔ cup) imeruli cheese or feta, finely crumbled or shredded
- 50 g (¼ cup) cottage cheese
- 10 g (¼ cup) cilantro/coriander chopped
Instructions
- Add the milk and the butter to a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Gently heat the milk only until the butter is melted. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour and yeast and stir with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula (or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook) until just combined and no dry spots remain. Cover the bowl and allow to rest for fifteen minutes.
- Add the salt and knead briefly until fully incorporated into the dough. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, supple and elastic – about 10-15 minutes (see note 2). Avoid adding any extra flour unless the dough is unmanageably sticky. If using a stand mixer, knead on medium for 8-10 minutes.
- Gather the dough into a tight ball. Add it to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size – about 1 hour (see note 3).
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Add the oil to a large skillet and set over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the chard along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the chard wilts and shrinks, only a minute or 2. Add the spinach and green onions and cook until the spinach is wilted, only a minute longer. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- To a large bowl, add the sulguni (or mozzarella) cheese, the imeruli (or feta) cheese, the cottage cheese, the coriander and the sauteed greens. Stir until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. When the dough has risen, lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough, pressing lightly to de-gas. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an even circle about 5mm (roughly ¼ in) thick. Be careful not to use too much flour, as this can make it difficult to seal in the filling. Pile the filling into the centre of the dough, leaving a roughly 8 cm (3in) border.
- Fold the border of the dough over the filling, pinching to encase the filling completely in the dough. Flip the dough over and gently roll out until it reaches about 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in diameter. Cut four 2 cm long (¾ in) slits in the centre of the dough, for steam release. Move to a parchment-lined baking tray and allow to rest until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.
- Move to the oven and bake until it's puffed, golden and crisp, about 20-25 minutes. Allow the pkhlovani to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into 8 wedges and serving.
Notes
- For best results, measure salt by weight, as different salts vary in crystal size and density.
- You’ll know the dough is properly kneaded when it passes the windowpane test. Pinch off a small, ping pong ball-sized piece of dough and gently stretch it between your fingers. The dough should stretch into a thin, translucent sheet that lets light pass through without tearing.
- I like to take a photo of the dough before letting it rise to gauge how much it has risen, as the time it takes can depend on the ambient temperature of the room.
- If you’re using mozzarella instead of sulguni, ensure that it is low-moisture mozzarella rather than fresh as the latter adds too much water content to the filling.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pkhlovani is a fun twist on traditional khachapuri, and the addition of greens and herbs is a wonderful addition to this delicious Georgian bread.
Are you after a pkhlovani recipe? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
