Georgian Bread: 10 Types of Khachapuri, Shoti and More
07November2026
Cuisines Guide Team
Cuisines Guide is a small team from Georgia sharing home-style recipes from around the world – from khinkali and khachapuri to Turkish, Polish, Moroccan and Portuguese classics – explained step by step for home cooks.
👉 Bread is sacred at the Georgian table. No meal starts without it – from the long, crusty shoti pulled fresh from a clay oven to the famous cheese-filled khachapuri that every region makes in its own way. Georgian breads range from simple everyday loaves to rich stuffed pies with cheese, beans or meat. Here are 10 types of Georgian bread you should know – with recipes for most of them.
🥖 1. Shoti (Tonis Puri)
The everyday bread of Georgia: a long, canoe-shaped loaf with pointed ends, slapped onto the hot inner wall of a round clay oven called a tone. It has a crisp golden crust and a soft, chewy middle, and Georgians buy it warm from neighbourhood bakeries every day.
🧀 2. Imeruli Khachapuri
The classic round cheese bread from Imereti: soft dough with a thick layer of melted cheese inside. It is the most common khachapuri in Georgian homes. 👉 Imeruli khachapuri recipe
🧀 3. Megruli Khachapuri
From Samegrelo, and even cheesier: like Imeruli, but with a second layer of cheese melted on top. 👉 Megruli khachapuri recipe
🍳 4. Adjaruli Khachapuri
The famous boat from the Black Sea coast of Adjara, filled with molten cheese and topped with an egg yolk and a piece of butter that you stir in at the table. 👉 Adjarian khachapuri recipe
🥐 5. Penovani Khachapuri
Cheese wrapped in flaky puff pastry and baked until crisp and golden – a favourite quick snack from Georgian bakeries.
🍝 6. Achma
Often called “Georgian lasagna”: thin sheets of boiled dough layered with cheese and butter, then baked until the top is crisp. 👉 Achma recipe
🫘 7. Lobiani
Bread filled with buttery, spiced kidney beans – the traditional dish of Barbaroba (St. Barbara’s Day, 17 December). The Rachuli version from the mountains of Racha adds smoked bacon. 👉 Lobiani recipe
🥩 8. Kubdari
The hearty meat pie of Svaneti, filled with chopped beef or pork, onion and the famous Svan salt with blue fenugreek and spices. 👉 Kubdari recipe
🌽 9. Mchadi
Small, flat cornbread cakes from western Georgia, made with just cornmeal, water and salt. They are perfect with cheese, pkhali or lobio. 👉 Mchadi recipe
🍯 10. Nazuki
A sweet, spiced bread with raisins and cinnamon from the town of Surami, sold warm by roadside bakers on the highway between Tbilisi and western Georgia.
🍽️ How Georgians Eat Bread
Bread on every table – shoti is served with every meal, torn by hand rather than sliced.
With sauces and dips – it is used to scoop up lobio, satsivi and the juices of grilled meat.
Khachapuri for celebrations – cheese breads appear at every supra, birthday and family gathering.
Bread is never wasted – dry bread is used in soups, dried into crackers or given to animals, never thrown away.
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous Georgian bread? Khachapuri, the cheese-filled bread, is the most famous. For everyday meals, Georgians mostly eat shoti from the clay oven.
What cheese is used in Georgian bread? Traditionally Imeruli cheese and sulguni. Outside Georgia, a mix of low-moisture mozzarella and feta is a good substitute.
How many types of khachapuri are there? Almost every region has its own – Imeruli, Megruli, Adjaruli, Penovani, Achma, Ossetian and Gurian khachapuri are the best known.
