Culinary Explorer
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Gilding Preparation
Created by Chef Juliette
La dorure is a thin, even coat of beaten egg, brushed without puddles so pastry bakes to a clear gold; a few drops of water keep a fierce oven from taking it too dark.
La dorure teaches restraint. The one true thing to know before the brush touches pastry is that an even, very thin coat colours more beautifully than a generous one. Pooled egg bakes into dark patches, clogs fine scoring, and can glue the cut layers of puff pastry together.
The source formula speaks of eggs in the plural because it assumed a pastry station brushing whole trays throughout service. At home, one large egg covers a tart or a dozen small pastries. The bowlful was brigade scaffolding and can go; the complete beating and sparing brushwork are the preparation itself and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Use whole beaten egg for the standard dorure, add a little water when the oven runs fierce and you want a paler colour, or use yolk diluted with a few drops of water for small, dry cakes. Beat until no ropey strand of white remains, then brush the thinnest complete coat you can. That smooth, unpooled coat is the step that matters.
Ingredients
large egg
Quantity
1 large (about 3 tablespoons / 45 ml / 50 g without shell)
for the standard dorure
large egg yolk (optional)
Quantity
1 large (about 1 tablespoon / 15 ml / 18 g)
use instead of the whole egg for small, dry cakes
cool water (optional)
Quantity
¼ to 1 teaspoon (1.25 to 5 ml / 1.25 to 5 g)
add drop by drop as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large eggfor the standard dorure | 1 large (about 3 tablespoons / 45 ml / 50 g without shell) |
| large egg yolk (optional)use instead of the whole egg for small, dry cakes | 1 large (about 1 tablespoon / 15 ml / 18 g) |
| cool water (optional)add drop by drop as needed | ¼ to 1 teaspoon (1.25 to 5 ml / 1.25 to 5 g) |
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