When you’re baking bread, the whole thing is not quite complete without that shiny, golden coat over it, right?
One problem with that is the way you get that shiny golden color in conventional baking is with an egg wash.
So if you’re vegan, can you still get that look and effect without using eggs?
We’re looking into that today at the Curious Cat Bakery Test Kitchen.
The Substitute Options
I’ve been using a mixture of plant milk and agave and I love the results.
But I decided to test out 3 other different types of egg wash replacements on vegan croissants to see if they work better or worse.
When Googling for alternatives, the most common are plant milk, coconut oil and aquafaba so these are the ones I tried out.
The Results
At first glance they all looked the same! But upon further inspection, there definitely were differences.
Plant Milk
I used unsweetened original almond milk and the croissants came out golden, crispy and shiny. You can't taste the milk at all.
Plant Milk and Agave
Again, I used unsweetened original almond milk — 2 tablespoons — and 1 teaspoon of agave. The croissant looked the same as the one with just almond milk but it had a slight sweetness to it that made it even better!
Aquafaba
The most disappointing of the options. While you couldn't taste the aquafaba, after coming out of the oven the shine disappeared and the color became dull. The whole thing deflated too and there was no crispiness at all.
Coconut Oil
Meanwhile the coconut oil made the croissant extra crispy but also a little bit oily.
The Conclusion
If you like a little sweetness to your croissants, go with the plant milk and agave (or maple syrup mix). If you like your croissants extra crispy, go for the coconut oil but use it sparingly or you'll end up with a big oily mess! Skip the aquafaba since that will give you a soft deflated pastry and if all you have is plant milk to work with, that will be a solid second choice!