Why You Should Never Skip Egg Washing
Egg mixture is a culinary backing vocalist: you don’t notice it when it’s there, but you definitely notice its absence. However, there’s always a moment in the middle of baking when you read the recipe ahead and grumble, “Ugh, do I need to wash my eggs?” Yes, sort of. Rinsing eggs is one of the most important steps in some recipes, and no matter what, they all improve the final product.
Usually egg wash is used as a top coat. You can bet on double crust pies requiring it, some cookie recipes call for it, and enriched breads like buns also call for a gold punch. For something especially sweet, the sticky surface makes for a great opportunity to sprinkle the sugar; the pellets will cling to the wash rather than bounce off. Applying a thin layer of egg to the side of your cookie will also create an irresistible golden brown with a charismatic glow. This is due to our culinary MVP, the Maillard reaction , which causes egg whites to lightly brown , creating a deep-fried and shiny coating that is far more enticing than a dry, barely tanned eggless pie. It’s also tasteless in this application because the coating is brushed on thinly, leaving no eggy flavor that detracts from the dessert. This use is purely aesthetic and technically you can skip it if you run out of eggs, but if you have eggs, don’t you dare leave it. It’s the equivalent of baking a Funfetti cake, but without the sprinkles because you don’t want to open the package.
Egg washing may be purely for beauty, but it is also used as a means to maintain the structural integrity of some desserts without adding flavor. In pies and tartlets, this simple application of a beaten egg with a teaspoon of water can be the difference between perfectly baked goods and the acrid smoke rising from your oven.
For a double-crust pie, add the egg mixture along the top edge. Once the filling is laid out, the top crust will meet the egg-washed edge and create a seal of paramount importance. The top and bottom crusts stick together with the egg, and because the proteins in the eggs coagulate and cook at 158°F, they seal the seams of the pie much sooner than when the pie filling begins to expand and bubble at 212°F. (when the water boils and evaporates ). This keeps all of the filling inside the cake where it needs to be instead of bursting out of the edges and burning on the oven floor.
For tartlets and pies that will have a no-bake filling or a particularly thin runny filling before baking, such as lemon curd pie or pumpkin pie, some recipes recommend applying egg grease to the bottom of the crust to prevent leakage. This egg wash app is supposed to be invisible so using the right egg wash can make the difference. In this case, scrambled eggs are suitable, as the dark golden color will not be felt under the filling. To do this, blindly bake a pie or cake, as required by the recipe. After the crust is out of the oven and the pie weights are removed, brush the entire inside bottom and inside edges with egg white while still hot. This fills in all the pores and small cracks with the egg, and the residual heat of the crust is still around or above 158°F (but not constant enough to cause Maillard reaction browning), cooking the egg after you peel to make a seal. Pour over the custard or layer of banoffee filling, and thanks to the egg mass, there’s little risk of your crust getting Paul Hollywood-level wet.
It doesn’t take long—a thin coating is all you need for both sealing and finishing (if you overdo it, the egg will curl up into a puddle and cook like a little scrambled egg). One egg is enough, so prepare ahead of time by checking recipes to see if you have enough eggs in reserve. When glamorous baking pops up in your oven, you’ll thank yourself from the past for being so adventurous.