Adjarian cheese bread boats with egg (Khachapuri adjaruli)

1. Stir the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm milk and leave for 10 minutes until frothy; put the flour and salt in a bowl, add the yeasted milk and the oil and knead for 8-10 minutes into a smooth, soft, elastic dough; cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled.

2. Coarsely grate or crumble the sulguni and imeruli cheese, mix together and work in 1 egg; if it's too dry, loosen with a spoonful or two of milk.

3. Preheat the oven to 240 °C; divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each on a floured surface into an oval of about 25×15 cm.

4. Roll the two long edges of each oval inwards and pinch the ends together to form a boat; place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and fill the centre with the cheese mixture.

5. Bake the boats for 10-12 minutes until the dough is golden and the cheese is bubbling; then make a small well in the centre of each, crack in an egg and bake for another 2-3 minutes, just until the white sets and the yolk is still runny.

6. Take them out, put a knob of butter next to each egg and serve at once: before eating, stir the egg, butter and hot cheese together with a fork and dip in pieces torn from the crust.

Tip: If you can't find sulguni and imeruli cheese, a half-and-half mix of mozzarella and feta gives the closest flavour and texture: the mozzarella stretches, the feta adds a salty tang.