The cheese can be used to make a loaf of bread.
In Georgia, long on the dividing line between Europe and Asia, bread has been a staple since medieval times. Baked in a brick oven, called a tom, which is similar to the Middle Eastern tandoor, these artisan loaves are glued to the inner walls of the oven to bake in intense, dry heat. There are a variety of flavors and textures available for tom bread, from cheese and potato to beans and spices.
Perhaps the most notable tone bread is khachapuri. The dough for this bread-like meal dish includes the cheese, with a little butter and egg yolk spread on the end. It is then sliced and eaten like a pizza. Preparation is not difficult, as you begin by wrapping the dough around a center of mozzarella, Monterey Jack, feta cheese, or any other suitable combination. The ball is then rolled out and baked, usually with little slits down the center, along with a little butter, fresh herbs, and a little egg yolk.
Georgians also adopt another pan tom dish called khinkali. This dish is made of little bags of pasta, glued on top, with tasty toppings such as cheese, mushroom, onion, garlic and various meats. The meats are cooked inside the bag, inside the oven to lock all their juices inside.
Georgian and Armenian bread, often called puri, is often accompanied by a little oil and herbs, including seasonal cuts of arugula, basil, and tarragon. These buns aren’t just stuffed with cheese and meat. Kartoiliani is a tom bread filled with mashed potatoes and seasoned onions. Lobiani is packed with cilantro-stained beans and onions.
Sweet versions of pan tom have also been made for millennia. A gingerbread called nazuki has a dough formed by mixing flour with butter and sweetened milk. The spice comes from vanilla, cinnamon, and coriander, which is infused into the milk before the flour is added. Unrolled and brushed with egg yolk, it is then baked in a kiln that reaches temperatures of around 900°F (about 482°C). Another variety has sweet cream cheese rolled into this dough before it is rolled.
The Arabian tandoor oven, still popular after roughly five millennia in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, is closely related to the tom oven. However, the types of breads that are traditionally made in one shade are often quite different. With few exceptions, some kind of natural bread is eaten with almost all Georgian meals.