Yes, room temperature eggs can make a huge difference in baking! And understanding why can help you achieve better texture, rise, and flavor in your favorite baked goods. The more you know about the science of baking, the better baker you’ll be, and the more delicious treats you can enjoy!
Not every recipe benefits from room temperature eggs vs cold eggs straight from the fridge, and often recipes like cookies or brownies won’t yield much of a difference. However, recipes that do benefit from using room temperature eggs are cakes and other egg-heavy baked goods, and recipes that involve whipping eggs or egg whites like soufflés and meringue.
Let’s talk about how using room temperature eggs make a difference!
Table of Contents
Why using room temperature eggs matter
- Better blending and combining with other ingredients. Egg membranes in both the egg yolk and egg white are less viscous at room temperature and they incorporate more easily with other ingredients to create a more uniform dough.
- Greater volume. Eggs at room temperature whip up more easily and hold more air when beaten. This is especially important for recipes like meringues, angel food cake, or sponge cakes, where the volume of beaten eggs contributes significantly to the texture.
- Faster, more even baking. Baking with cold ingredients results in a colder dough or batter, which slows down bake time. However, using room temperature ingredients promotes even baking in a shorter amount of cook time.
Use room temperature eggs for these types of recipes
Egg temperature will make the most difference in these kinds of recipes:
- Cakes and cupcakes will be taller because of the volume incorporated into the cake batter. They’ll also have a softer and more tender texture because less mixing was required to bring everything together.
- Soufflés, meringue, and other recipes requiring whipped egg whites or yolks will have the best texture
- Cheesecake, crème brulee and other baked custards will have a more silky smooth texture and bake evenly without cracks, air pockets or deflating while cooling.
What temperature are “room temperature” eggs?
Room temperature eggs are typically around 65–70°F, which is the average temperature of most kitchens. This is significantly warmer than eggs straight from the refrigerator, which are usually around 40°F.
To get room temp eggs, simply pull them out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before you plan to use them. Eggs can be stored safely at room temperature for several hours, so feel free to pull them out of the fridge even earlier if you want.
How to quickly get eggs to room temperature
If your recipe calls for room temperature eggs and you didn’t plan ahead, you can get them to room temperature quickly by placing them in a small bowl and covering the eggs with warm tap water. Let them sit for 5 minutes before proceeding.
FAQs
Yes, room temperature egg whites will whip up faster with a better volume and more even air bubbles, which results in more stable emulsion (ie they won’t collapse or deflate as easily). It is easier to separate eggs when they are cold however, so I prefer to separate eggs straight from the fridge and let them them sit for 30-60 minutes. Learn how to separate eggs here.
Absolutely! There are many recipes where using cold eggs will be just fine. I prefer to use cold eggs for cookies that use the creaming method, as a way to keep the dough cool and prevent spreading in the oven. And some recipes actually require a cold dough, such as many kinds of pastry, so you’ll want to start with cold eggs. When in doubt, always follow the recipe instructions!
The USDA recommends that eggs should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Beyond this time, the risk of bacterial growth, particularly from Salmonella, increases significantly. If I have a big baking day my eggs will be out most of the day, but I never leave eggs out overnight.
Recipes calling for room temperature eggs
Use room temperature for recipes like these and notice a huge difference in how it turns out! It’s worth the small extra effort, I promise.
