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Use an egg wash (whole egg, yolk, or white and water, milk, or cream) to seal edges or add shine and color to baked goods. Discover which combination of ingredients is best suited for your recipe.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Egg: Egg washes can use the whole egg, just the egg white, or just the egg yolk. It depends on the recipe and what outcome you want. Please see the Tips and Variations section for options.
- Water: Or substitute milk or cream depending on your recipe and your desired outcome.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water.
- Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash over dough prior to baking.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about ¼ cup egg wash, enough for 32 dinner rolls, 12 soft pretzels, 1 pie, or 2 galettes.
- Make ahead: Egg wash is best applied to baked goods immediately before baking. Otherwise, the dough may get soggy.
- Whole egg: Deep color and shine
- Whole egg + milk or cream: Deep color and shine
- Whole egg + water: Medium color and shine
- Egg yolk: Yellow color and shine
- Egg yolk + milk or cream: Brownish yellow color and shine
- Egg yolk + water: Pale yellow color and shine
- Egg white: Very little color and lots of shine
- Egg white + milk or cream: Light color and light shine
- Egg white + water: Very little color and light shine
- Milk or cream: Medium color and no shine
- Water: For crispness and sealing edges or seams
Soft Yeast Dinner Rolls
When nothing but homemade bread will do, try these easy Soft Yeast Dinner Rolls. They are perfect at your holiday table, piled with any kind of meat, or on the side of Sunday Supper.
View Recipe
Recipes with egg wash
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Cranberry Cheesecake Galette
Bread Recipes
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Pie and Tart Recipes
The Best Apple Pie
Bread Recipes
Hot Cross Buns
Egg Wash
Ingredients
- 1 whole egg or yolk or white (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon water or milk or cream (see note 2)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash over dough prior to baking.
Notes
- Egg: Egg washes can use the whole egg, just the egg white, or just the egg yolk. It depends on the recipe and what outcome you want. Please see the Tips and Variations section for options.
- Water: Or substitute milk or cream depending on your recipe and your desired outcome.
- Yield: This recipe makes about ¼ cup egg wash, enough for 32 dinner rolls, 12 soft pretzels, 1 pie, or 2 galettes.
- Make ahead: Egg wash is best applied to baked goods immediately before baking. Otherwise, the dough may get soggy.
- Whole egg: Deep color and shine
- Whole egg + milk or cream: Deep color and shine
- Whole egg + water: Medium color and shine
- Egg yolk: Yellow color and shine
- Egg yolk + milk or cream: Brownish yellow color and shine
- Egg yolk + water: Pale yellow color and shine
- Egg white: Very little color and lots of shine
- Egg white + milk or cream: Light color and light shine
- Egg white + water: Very little color and light shine
- Milk or cream: Medium color and no shine
- Water: For crispness and sealing edges or seams
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
