Tips and Tricks for How to Bake Eggs in the Oven
Use a water bath. We like to cook the eggs using a hot water bath. I know this seems like an unusual step, but it helps to gently cook the eggs so they cook all the way through. To set up the water bath, find a baking dish that fits the number of ramekins you plan to use — in our recipe below, this is four ramekins. Assemble the baked eggs then place the ramekins into the baking dish. Just before sliding into the oven, pour enough hot water into the baking dish so that water comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Use either very hot tap water or water that has been heated until just before boiling. Add cream. We spoon about a tablespoon of cream on top of the eggs before baking. This not only adds flavor, it provides a little insurance against the yolk drying out in the oven. Keep an eye on them. The bake time for cooking eggs in the oven will vary depending on how set you want your yolks. Set whites with runny yolks is my personal favorite. For runny yolks you are looking at 12 to 15 minutes. For soft cooked yolks it will be somewhere between 15 and 18 minutes and for hard cooked, about 20 minutes.
Recipe updated, originally posted January 2010. Since posting this in 2010, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves 4 large eggs Salt and fresh ground black pepper 4 tablespoons heavy cream, optional 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Toasted French bread for serving 2In a small bowl, stir the garlic, thyme and rosemary together. Divide between ramekins. 3Crack one egg into each ramekin and sprinkle eggs with a pinch of salt and a grind or two of fresh pepper. Spoon a tablespoon of cream over each egg then finish by scattering parmesan on top. 4Place all four ramekins into the baking dish. Pour hot water — very hot tap water is fine — into the baking dish so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 5Carefully slide the baking dish with the ramekins into the oven using the middle rack. Bake until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking — 12 to 15 minutes for runny yolks, 15 to 18 minutes for soft cooked yolks and about 20 minutes for hard yolks. Remove the ramekins and serve with toasted bread for dipping.
