Georgian Bread Products

Any mention of Georgian cuisine or culinary culture must begin with bread. Georgians love bread so much that they eat it with basically everything and prepare it in every way, shape and form. Acquaint yourself with some of the most popular Georgian bread products below:

Georgian Puri Bread - Traditional Georgian bread is called puri. Puri is baked in a huge, round clay oven called a tone. The precise shape of puri bread varies in each region of Georgia. Shoti bread, a popular type of puri, has a long, bow-shaped form, while Meskhuri puri is round with a hole in the middle. Other variations are oval-shaped, and all are delicious!

Khachapuri – Probably the most famous member of Georgian cuisine, khachapuri has become a worldwide symbol of Georgian food because of its simplicity and taste. Khachapuri is a cheese-filled bread (both closed and open-faced) that is baked in the oven or in an iron pan. Almost every region of Georgia has its own variation of khachapuri. The most famous ones are:
Imeretian Khachapuri – A simple, round variety with the cheese stuffed inside a flat bread.
Megrelian Khachapuri – This variation is covered with a mixture of grated cheeses and an egg and baked open-faced in the oven.
Adjarian Khachapuri – A boat-shaped open variety with cheese, egg and melted butter on top. Adjarian khachapuri is a relatively new type of baked khachapuri that resembles the famous Greek penirli and Turkish pide.
Gurian Khachapuri – Crescent-shaped, sealed cheese pies with boiled eggs cut in circles added to the filling.
Penovani Khachapuri (Puff Pastry) – Made with layered puff dough, penovani khachapuri is probably the most famous Georgian fast food that can now be found at almost every street bakery in Georgia.
Achma – A layered khachapuri that is very similar to Italian lasagna, minus the sauce.

Additional varieties of khachapuri include Ossetian khachapuri, Khevsuretian khachapuri, Svanetian khachapuri and Rachian khachapuri.

Other notable representatives of traditional Georgian bread products include:
Lobiani – Bread stuffed with beans. The most popular variation is lobiani from Racha Region, which mixes smoked ham into the bean filling.
Mkhlovani – A traditional Georgian bread recipe consisting of bread filled with chopped spinach or the leaves of beetroot or nettle.
Kubdari – A traditional meat-filled bread from Svaneti Region.
Mchadi – West Georgian fritters made with corn flour and usually served with cheese.
Chvishtari – A variation of mchadi in which the cheese is mixed in with the dough before being baked.
Gomi – Traditional Megrelian corn flour porridge prepared in Samegrelo Region.
Elarji – A real Megrelian masterpiece from Samegrelo Region, elarji is a corn flour porridge boiled with traditional Sulguni cheese.