The 7 Best Pastry Brushes, Tested and Reviewed

How We Tested

We sent these products to be tested in the home kitchen of Irvin Lin. Irvin spent weeks working with the pastry brushes, brushing egg wash on pie dough, puff pastry, and phyllo dough as well as testing the nylon and silicone brushes with marinades and sauces. He tested for durability, shedding of bristles, how comfortable the brush was in the hand, ease of cleaning, and how well they held and brushed liquid. Afterward, he rated each brush on its Design, Performance, Durability, and Overall Value.

Other Options We Tested

• M Kitchen World Silicone Pastry Brush: This is a good quality silicone brush that has an internal grid bristle that helps hold liquid fairly well, for a silicone brush. However, the handle felt thin and cheap, which made the brush feel uncomfortable in the hand.
• Winco Pastry Brush: This natural boar hair brush is a workhorse in the kitchen with a nice thick bristle head and medium-soft bristle. But it initially shed bristles more than others, and the metal ferrule might tarnish or rust over a period of time.
• Consevisen Silicone Basting Brush: This silicone brush set has a thin, soft-grip handle which made it comfortable in the hand. The longer handle is also nice for brushing marinades onto hot food. But the bristles themselves are soft and thin, which did not hold very much liquid at all.
• Royal Industries Nylon Bristle Pastry Brush: This nylon brush is a little too big and wide, which damaged delicate dough. The thicker bristle head also makes it a little more difficult to wash the bristles, which defeated the purpose of a nylon brush.
• Ateco Pastry Brush 1 1/16-Inch Round: This is a great round brush, with a nice rounded tapered edge on the bristle head. However, the bristles are just slightly more dense and stiff than the Winco round brush, making it more difficult to use for detail work. It also initially shed some bristles which wasn’t ideal.

What to Look for When Buying a Pastry Brush

Bristle Material

Bristles play a large part in how effective a pastry brush is in picking up and spreading liquids on your baked goods. You want bristles pliable for even coverage, but do not damage your delicate pastries. Stiffer bristles can tear paper-thin phyllo dough, while very soft bristles are hard to control and may grab too much liquid. There are three materials most pastry brushes are made from, and each has its niche spot in pastry prep.

Boar Hair

This natural bristle is by far the preferred material for professional chefs. They absorb liquids well and are supple enough to smoothly glaze any pastry, yet dense enough to soak a cake in syrup. They work well whether the liquid is thick and viscous or thin and runny, and drippage is almost non-existent. The disadvantage of this material is the possibility of bristle shedding over time, and most must be hand washed. 

Nylon

Bristles made of nylon offer the pliability of natural brushes without the danger of shedding, but they do not hold liquid as well. Nylon is adept at spreading thicker liquids, like glazes or barbecue sauces, but can be stiffer than natural bristles, causing the brush to tear delicate pastries. They do hold liquid better than silicone and are a nice compromise if you want something that does not shed but allows better absorption.

Silicone

Silicone brushes have thicker silicone bristles and are better for basting meats than brushing pastries. Silicone is usually high heat-resistant, odor-resistant, and dishwasher safe. Typically, silicone models have larger bristles and less of them than the other materials, which causes thinner liquids to drip right off. They're agile with thicker sauces and marinades, and can often be used while grilling or roasting at high heat. The bristles are secure and will not shed into your food. Look for silicone brushes that have a flat inner bristle that has holes in it. These inside bristles help to hold the liquid more than the thin bristles.

Handle Material

Pastry brush handles come in three materials: wood, some version of plastic, and metal. 

Wood handles offer a firm grip and are often found with natural bristle brushes. When considering a wooden handle, look for a grip that will sit comfortably in your hand and be sure to think about how you will use it. If you're grilling and basting, a longer handle is needed, but for buttering delicate puff pastry, shorter handles offer more precision. Wood handles usually aren't dishwasher safe.

Plastic handles offer the convenience of being easier to clean and are often, but not always, dishwasher safe. The other advantage of plastic handles is that they're usually grippier than other choices. Bristles on these types of handles are often molded into the handle, which eliminates issues with bacterial growth, and they tend to be longer lasting than other models.

Less common are brushes with metal handles. They tend to be more expensive and are slippery to grip. 

Size

Choosing the right tool for the job means taking into account the size. Bristles under 2 inches tend to provide the best combination of coverage and versatility. Longer bristles offer the ability to reach all the crevices on pastries, such as fruit tarts, but can be hard to maneuver when a more delicate touch is necessary. Shorter bristles lack the swoosh factor of their larger counterparts and cover less area, but can aid in detail work and are the right choice for smaller pastries or doughs.

In addition to bristle length, an important consideration is density of brush head. More bristles means it can grab more liquid, keeping reloads less frequent. But denser bristles often lead to a stiffer brush as well, so it can be a tradeoff.

FAQs

How do you clean a pastry brush?

The first thing to do is read your manufacturer instructions. Beyond that, it becomes about the bristles you chose. Silicone models generally need a quick rinse to remove thick liquids, but then go to the dishwasher. Natural and most nylon models need more care. If you opt for boar hair bristles, a quick soak in lemon juice and dish soap will break up any accumulated liquid. Then, hand wash and dry them for maximum durability. Nylon is slightly less labor intensive. A quick hand wash in warm, soapy water should do the trick. Debris left on brushes can harden or turn rancid, so be sure to wash your brushes after each use.

When should you replace your pastry brush?

Again, this depends on your model. It's easy to tell when a natural bristle brush needs to be replaced—if it's shedding, it's time. If your brush smells even after washing, it's time for a new brush. Odors and stains can accumulate, and you don’t want to impart that to your pastries. 

Silicone and nylon tend to last longer than natural boar hair, but they can become stained or even melt if you're using them repeatedly in high-heat situations. Look at the degradation of the bristles to know when it’s time for a new brush.

What else can a pastry brush be used for? 

Before we even get into the versatility conversation, be sure to designate your brushes for the tasks you use them for to prevent cross contamination. Don’t brush egg wash on a pie with the same brush you used to bast barbecue sauce on a rack of ribs. 

Beyond preventing cross contamination, there are a number of tasks you can accomplish with a pastry brush. Sealing dough edges, applying egg wash, decorating cakes, greasing pans, brushing cake crumbs off of cake layers and glazing are the most common baking tasks, but here are a few lesser-known jobs the pastry brush is up to: removing extra seasoning on proteins, brushing excess flour from your work area or pans, removing citrus peel from zesters, cleaning errant coffee grounds from grinders or makers, and soaking cakes with syrups.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Irvin Lin tested and updated this roundup. He is a cookbook author of "Marbled, Swirled, and Layered" and an ongoing contributor to The Spruce Eats and Simply Recipes. He runs his own blog Eat the Love and is a professional recipe developer and writer. He is a multiple blue-ribbon-winning pie baker that loves his pastry brushes.

Carrie Honaker is a food writer who has sampled many of the pastry brush options, from natural bristle to silicone. As a restaurateur and avid home cook, she knows the importance of finding the right tool for the right job. Her work has appeared in many publications, including Bon Appetit, Allrecipes, and Wine Enthusiast.