The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Eggwash brush washing and storage?

tn gabe's picture
tn gabe

Eggwash brush washing and storage?

I rinse mine with hot water, hand wash with dish soap, and then high temp cycle in the dishwasher but it's still....not to my liking.

Any tips other than only using it a few times and then gettting a new one? Should I try another kind of brush? I've just got a standard pastry brush.

meirp's picture
meirp

Cleans perfectly in dishwasher.

Meir

Grenage's picture
Grenage

I might be a vile wretch of a man, but I just wash mine in hot soapy water, and dry it - as I would anything else.

proth5's picture
proth5

do get a little - well - used looking - with time even when thoroughly cleaned.

Although I don't like them for everything, I'll echo meirp with a recommendation for the silicone brushes.  I like the OXO brushes - because I got them fairly inexpensively when I was consulting there. Some silicone brushes don't really hold the egg wash sufficiently - OXO does.

I save my good bristle brushes for applications where they are absolutely required.  With thorough washing and infrequent use, they stay fresher longer...

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

When I can find my pastry brush, I simply use paper towel dipped in whatever I'm brushing on, then pitch it out.  Works for me.

breaducation's picture
breaducation

I'd also say go with a good silicone brush. But for your bristle brushes you could also try dipping them in a sanitizing solution consisting of a very small quantity of bleach diluted in water.

bakedmama's picture
bakedmama

I wash mine with hot soapy water and store them in an open jar with kosher salt on the bottom. The salt helps draw out the moisture in the bristles. I think that they last longer doing this.  Good luck!

gerhard's picture
gerhard

Yup pastry brushes can be pretty disgusting.  We also switched to the silocone brushes quite a few years ago.  We have two types one has many thin fingers and the other only two rows of much thicker fingers.  For egg wash I find the thicker one works just fine.  They have been used for a long time and still look new and you don't lose any bristles as you would with a traditional brush after a year or so.

Gerhard

Danny1930's picture
Danny1930

It depends on whether you need to do a lot of pans with oil for example or brush egg wash on trays of croissants. I don't use a brush anymore and use an electric spray gun - the multiSPRAY from Krea. It's so fast that I'm done in no time. It comes apart for easy cleaning -- I used to hate tackling the pastry brush before. I never felt like it was really clean.