In the Delish Test Kitchen, we spend a lot of time wondering what’s the best of the best. From the best olive oil to the best canned tomatoes to the best type of flour for your baking project, no question goes unanswered. As summer pie season kicked into full swing, our next burning question arose: Which egg wash reigns supreme?
You might be thinking, "There’s more than one type of egg wash?" The answer is yes, yes there is. Delish Senior Food Editor (and resident baking queen) Makinze Gore thinks about which egg wash is best "a lot," so she decided to test 5 different washes—whole eggs, an egg yolk, an egg white, heavy cream, and butter—on cut-out pieces of pie dough to determine her ultimate favorite. Here’s what she discovered.
First Things First: Why Use An Egg Wash?
If you’ve ever reached the egg wash step while baking and thought about skipping it, know that using an egg wash on your baked goods can significantly alter the end result. An egg wash is what creates that beautiful final appearance by adding texture, shine, and color. You spent all that time working on your pastry, pie crust, bread, or other creation, so why not make it look as beautiful and appetizing as possible?
Now that we’ve got the "why" out of the way, here are the best (and worst) washes for your baked goods, ranked from worst to best.
Egg Yolk
Coming in at the bottom of the bunch, Gore ranked the egg yolk as her least favorite by far. Using just the yolk creates a thick coating with a very yellow appearance. If you brush this onto your recipe before baking, prepare for the final result to have a bright yellow hue. Gore says it’s "not appetizing to look at," and she can’t think of a single time when she would recommend using just the yolk. Skip!
Heavy Cream Or Butter
Both heavy cream and butter yield a similar result—neither adds a great deal of color to the finished product, so your baked goods won’t have a super-golden crust. However, both will add even more flakiness, with butter especially resulting in a flaky, flavorful top. Gore recommends either of these as a great wash for biscuits or scones; they’re also a notable alternative if you’ve run out of eggs or don’t need that golden finish after baking.
Whole Egg Or Egg White
Without a doubt, Gore ranks using a whole egg or an egg white (without water!) as her top two favorites. They both provide similar results, but Gore slightly prefers a whole egg for the majority of her baking projects. "Sometimes, you need to stick with the classics," Gore says. A whole egg adds a nice golden color and a fair amount of shine to your baked goods. If you beat it before brushing on, it will also give a very even coating after baking.
Not to mention, using a whole egg for your wash eliminates wasting any part of the egg and is an easy, classic option for very good reason. Happy baking!
