I put them in the pan with the cold water, so they can heat up gradually as the water comes to the boil (stops them cracking so much), then once on the boil about 6 mins (unless I forget about them - in which case it could be any amount of time - and believe me, burnt boiled eggs do NOT smell good and can cause a fairly dramatic explosion. Very messy!)
x
I have a special boiled egg timer from Lakeland that you add to the pan with the egg. It is marked for soft/medium/hard yolks and changes colour as time passes. When the colour reaches the appropriate mark you know it's time to take the egg out and run it under cold water. Perfect eggs every time.
Egg-Perfect - Lakeland, the home of creative kitchenware
"Fairly dramatic explosion!" LOL! I never knew eggs could explode!!