Using an egg wash on yeast breads, pie crusts, and other baked goods can help with the browning process. The type of egg wash you use makes a difference in the appearance and texture of the crust as well, though all will add some degree of shine.
If you see it in a recipe, it is almost always optional and will not affect the final texture or flavor of your baked good- only the appearance. If you look at a baked good side by side with and without an egg wash, the one that did not get brushed before baking will look more dull or rustic.
WATER: Water is often sprayed or brushed onto bread before it is placed in a very hot oven, and during baking, to give the bread an extra-crisp crust. Water added to an egg wash helps to thin the wash so it brushes more easily. BUTTER: This will give the bread a softer crust and richer flavor.
You can also make an egg wash with the yolk or the whole egg. Whites only will give a shine, while baked goods brushed with yolk or whole egg washes will bake up more golden. Egg washes can be made with milk or cream instead of water. I brushed bread with three egg washes made with whole egg.
Butter or Olive Oil Brush: Brush softened butter or olive oil atop the loaf before baking to add flavor and color. Milk Bath: Brushing a loaf with milk before baking gives the baked bread a tender, golden crust. For a sweet bread recipe, sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Heavy Cream or Milk
Since milk encourages browning, brushing the tops will give you a desirable rustic golden color out of the oven. An egg wash brushed on biscuits will also give you a golden color but it will also create shine which isn't typical of a biscuit or scone.
Egg wash often appears in pastry and bread recipes and can be used to create a shiny, brown crust or act as an edible glue.
An egg wash is simply an egg or part of an egg thinned with a bit of water, milk, or cream. The fat and protein in the mixture promotes browning and lends sheen.
An egg wash imparts a pleasing color and shine to your baked goods, but it also acts as a natural adhesive. Seeds will stick to your bread, raw sugar to your pie crust, and breadcrumbs to your cutlet if you first brush the dough with an egg wash. You can also seal dumplings or stuffed pasta with a simple egg wash.
An egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of cream produces a very shiny deep-brown crust, beaten with 1 teaspoon of milk, it gives a shiny, medium-brown crust. Melted butter or oil makes for a soft velvety crust. Glazes can also be used to "glue" or attach seeds to bread before baking.
In baking, many recipes call for an egg wash to be brushed on the baked goods before it goes into the oven. The purpose of this is to give the final product a golden brown color that is slightly shiny. Egg washes can make the final product look more professional, a bit crispier, or act as a binder."
Milk or Cream
(So if your recipe asks for one cup of egg wash, you can sub with 4 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream.) Note: Joachim recommends sprinkling 1 to 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar after brushing on the dairy for a “more homestyle country glaze.”
For a crisp crust with a matte, classic pie appearance, use just milk. Many biscuits and rolls are brushed with milk or buttermilk to give them that finishing touch. For a little more shine than an all-milk wash, but not as much as an egg wash, use heavy cream or half-and-half.
The short answer is “No”. Eggs are laid with a natural coating on the shell called the “bloom” or “cuticle”. This coating is the first line of defense in keeping air and bacteria out of the egg. Eggshells are porous, so when you wash them you're removing that natural barrier.
We did find, however, that in addition to flavoring the wash, salt helps denature the proteins in the egg, making it more fluid and therefore much easier to brush evenly and gently over delicate doughs. We'll be adding a pinch of salt to our egg washes from now on.
When applying an egg wash to bread in a bread pan, use a light hand. If you put too much on, it will dribble down between the dough and the bread pan, causing the loaf of bread to get stuck inside the pan when baked. (The same applies to pies: don't let any dribble down between the bottom crust and the pie pan.)
The typical egg wash ratio is one tablespoon of liquid to one egg, or half a tablespoon of liquid to either part of the egg: yolk or white. Put the liquid and egg in a bowl, beat them together, and voila: egg wash.
Final answer: Carbon dioxide gas given off during fermentation of sugar makes bread soft and fluffy.
Soft Crust
If your crust is becoming soft too quickly and not staying crispy you simply need to bake the bread longer. The best way to do this is to lower the temperature of your oven slightly and bake a few more minutes to achieve the same color you would have at the higher temperature.
The flour step gives the egg something to adhere to. Without it, the breading would slide right off the meat.
All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.
Preparing the dough
Dusting the top of your loaves with flour prior to scoring will ensure maximum contrast between white flour and dark, baked crust.
Are you baking your loaf at the right temperature? It sounds obvious, but bread generally needs to be baked at a high temperature. A golden-brown, glossy crust is achieved when sugars and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) in the dough react together at high temperatures in the oven.