If you’re trying to make a 5-to-7-minute egg, you’ll get the best results by dropping them into boiling water. For a traditional hard-boiled egg, just start them in cold. Last but not least, don’t forget what happens after the timer has gone off. Shocking eggs in cold water will help control the consistency.
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/how-to-boil-an-egg
For the answer, we turned to the American Egg Board. Per this governing body: “Hard-boiled eggs cook best if they are not boiled at all. If eggs are cooked at 212°F for too long, the whites become rubbery and the yolks dry.
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/how-to-boil-an-egg
Place large eggs (older eggs will be easier to peel) in a medium heavy saucepan. Add water to cover by 1 1/2 inches. Bring to a boil; immediately remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water to cool. Gently crack the eggs and peel under running water for ease.
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/how-to-boil-an-egg
Baking eggs in an oven instead of boiling in water. Baked eggs (350 °F (177 °C) for 1/2 hour in a muffin tin, cool in ice water) are identical to boiled eggs but the shells peel more easily.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg
Boiled eggs are eggs (typically chicken eggs) cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while for a soft-boiled egg the yolk, and sometimes the white, remain at least partially liquid. A few different ways are used to make boiled eggs other than simply immersing them in boiling water.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg
At full steam, soft-boiled eggs are ready in 6 minutes, hard-boiled eggs at 8 minutes. As the eggs are cooked by a steam source, there is no variation of water temperature and hence cooking time, no matter how many eggs are placed in the steamer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg
1 Gently lower the eggs into the water one at a time. 2  Cook the eggs for 5 to 7 minutes: For 1 to 2 eggs, cook 5 minutes for a very runny yolk or up to 7 minutes for a barely-set yolk. For 3 or 4 eggs, add a few extra seconds to your timing.  Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon.
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-soft-boiled-egg-kitchn-cooking-lesson-138819
Hard-boiled eggs are boiled for longer than soft-boiled eggs, long enough for the yolk to solidify. They can be eaten warm or cold. Hard-boiled eggs are the basis for many dishes, such as egg salad, Cobb salad and Scotch eggs, and may be further prepared as deviled eggs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg
1 Gently lower the eggs into the water one at a time. 2  Cook the eggs for 5 to 7 minutes: For 1 to 2 eggs, cook 5 minutes for a very runny yolk or up to 7 minutes for a barely-set yolk. For 3 or 4 eggs, add a few extra seconds to your timing. (For more than 4 eggs, cook in batches.)  Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon.
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-soft-boiled-egg-kitchn-cooking-lesson-138819
1 Let the water come to a rolling boil. 2  Reduce the water to a rapid simmer: Lower the heat and let the water reduce to a rapid simmer. 3  Gently lower the eggs into the water one at a time.  Cook the eggs for 5 to 7 minutes: For 1 to 2 eggs, cook 5 minutes for a very runny yolk or up to 7 minutes for a barely-set yolk.
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-soft-boiled-egg-kitchn-cooking-lesson-138819
how long to soft boiled egg
Boil eggs for 6 minutes, for soft boiled egg. It take 6 minutes for soft boiled egg.