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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, on the side of Sunday Supper, piled with any kind of meat, or served simply with a bowl of soup.
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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 a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.