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Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Farmer’s Cheese -

1/2 gallon whole milk

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

Gently heat the milk in a large pot until it gets to 185ºF over the course of 40+ minutes. Medium-low to Medium heat will be the range you’ll want to work in for the majority of this time.

Once your milk has come to temperature, drizzle the vinegar in, slowly, over the surface of the milk. Gently stir the vinegar to incorporate into the milk. As the vinegar disperses in the liquid, the curds will separate from the whey.

Kill the heat, cover the pot, and allow to rest until it reaches room temperature.

Lay a flour sack cloth or cheesecloth inside of a colander and strain the contents of the pot through that. Bring the corners together and squeeze the liquid from the solid curd. Twist the cloth and squeeze the curd for a few minutes until you’ve gotten the vast majority of the liquid out. Refrigerate until later when we’ll make the cheese filling.

Dough -

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix the sugar into the water with a pinch of flour and add the yeast to wake it up and allow it to bloom.

Combine all of the ingredients and knead for 12 minutes until a smooth dough has been achieved. Roll into a tight ball and cover with Saran Wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 3 hours.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and form into a tight ball. Divide into 4 equal parts and set aside.

Filling -

1.5 cups farmer’s cheese

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella

1.5 cups shredded feta

4 eggs, plus one to egg wash the dough

2 tablespoons butter

Mix together the 3 cheeses and “knead” them with your hands to make a homogenous cheese spread.

Pre-heat the oven to 450ºF.

Roll out a disk of dough 6-8 inches in diameter. Gripping the dough at opposite points of the disk, twist in opposite directions to produce an eye-shaped “boat” of dough. With your fingers, press the cheese mixture into the dough until it covers the inside of the “eye” with a consistent layer. Scramble one egg and brush it onto the exposed dough around the edge of the khachapuri. Bake at 450ºF for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, open the oven and make a depression in the melted cheese with the back of a spoon. Gently deposit one whole egg into the depression and return to the oven for 6-8 minutes. The egg will become opaque and partially cooked, but still runny.

Remove from the oven and dot the top of the melted cheese with bits of butter, which will melt from the heat of the khachapuri and pool around the top of the cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve warm.