Ingredient Spotlight: Eggs in Baking
It’s been a long time since we’ve talked baking ingredients here on Completely Delicious, and with Easter just around the corner I thought it would be a great excuse to talk about eggs.
Alton Brown said that the egg is the most flexible and powerful culinary device on earth. Eggs are in everything! From casual breakfast dishes to elaborate cakes and everything in between. In fact, it’s hard to find a baking recipe that doesn’t include eggs. So why are eggs so important?
How and Why Eggs are Used in Baking
The proteins in eggs help with structure during baking. When mixed and agitated with other ingredients, eggs form a web that traps in moisture, fats, etc. These agitated proteins can also create tiny air bubbles that group together in a foam. When baked, the foam expands and creates rise (think of soufflés and meringues). The foam created by whipped egg whites is well known, but it is possible to create foam with egg yolks as well.
Eggs also work to emulsify fats and liquids, are used as thickeners, act as binding agents, help with browning, and so much more. It really is the incredible, edible egg.
Do My Eggs Need to be at Room Temperature?
Many recipes call for eggs at room temperature. This is because the egg membranes are less viscous at room temperature and mix into the batter more easily. The difference will not be noted in every recipe, but it can make a big difference in egg-heavy cakes such as angel food and sponge cakes. A quick way to bring them to room temperature is to put them in warm water for about 5 minutes.
Storing Eggs
How quickly an egg “ages” has more to do with how it’s stored than the time that’s passed since it was laid. Eggs stored in the back of the fridge (not in the door) will keep for weeks and weeks, while eggs at room temperature will age very quickly. As an egg ages the whites become thinner and the yolk becomes flatter. While aging greatly affects appearance, it has little affect on its behavior during baking. An egg will essentially dry up before it “goes bad” and is unusable.
Eggs by Weight
Most recipes (and all of the recipes on this site) use large eggs, and it’s the only size I keep stocked in my fridge. But what do you do if the size of egg you need isn’t what you have on hand? Gently whisk an egg (or a few) together to combine the egg white and yolk and measure what you need by weight.
Large egg = 50 grams/1.75 ounces
Large egg yolk = 20 grams/0.75 ounces
Large egg white = 30 grams/1 ounce
So there you have it. Eggs! Do you have any egg questions I can help you answer?
Check out these other Ingredient Spotlights:
How Flour is Used in Baking
How Butter and Fats are Uses in Baking
This is such great information, Annalise! You always have the most useful baking tips in your posts.
Great tips and info, Annalise!!
Great information and great pictures!
Mary x
Oh you! Fabulous post! (as always)
I know you bake a lot so you probably never have old eggs, but I don’t bake or even use eggs very often. So are you saying that an egg stored in the carton in the back of the fridge will not spoil? I have thrown lots of eggs away for fear that they would make my family sick. Have I been wise, or just wasteful?
I think that you can probably use eggs much longer than you currently are. Even though I checked a few sources that said they never rot or become bad for you, I probably, for my own peace of mind, would not use eggs after they’ve been sitting in my fridge for 6 weeks or longer. That’s still a long time, you should be able to use a dozen eggs in that time. Hope that helps!
I cannot believe what I’m reading. Trust me, you WILL know if the egg goes bad. 6 weeks is way too short. OK, I don’t know were are you from, but I’ll leave the option of eggs in the US going bad earlier than in Europe, due to our eggs not being washed, so they don’t lose their protective layer.
However, no matter the time you will recognize an egg gone bad. If you crack it there is no way you could miss that horrible smell. I’ve seen a rotten egg only a few times in my life, so I’m not sure if the yolk turns slightly greenish, but I tell you, you’ll know by the smell of it.
One tip if you’re worried, crack eggs one at a time into a coffee cup plate (saucer), and then pour it into the dish you want. That way, you can inspect egg for pieces of shell to, and if one happens to be bad, you wont spoil the hole batch.
My friend has just got some hens …now every time someone is going to bake a cake she brings them fresh eggs. …it’s brilliant. 🙂
This is very good to know. Thank you!!!