Salt Dough

Salt dough is a must for making basic sculptures. It can be used as an all-natural play dough and self-hardening clay alternative that can keep in the fridge for months. Your finished salt dough sculptures can be air-dried or oven-dried to set.

Materials Needed

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup fine salt
  • ½ to ¾ cup water
  • 1 to 2 tbsp. wall paper paste (optional)
  • A few drops of food coloring or poster paint (optional)
  • Spoons or spatulas
  • Measuring cups
  • Mixing container (basin or bowl)

Safety Guidelines

  • This dough is not edible.

Steps

Step 1 Salt Dough 1. In a basin, mix two cups flour and 1 cup salt.
Step 2 Salt Dough 2. The amount of water needed ranges between ½ to ¾ cup. I usually start out with ½ cup and add a bit more in the next step.
Step 3 Salt Dough 3. Mix and knead, adding a bit more water if the dough is too tough or dry. The resulting dough should be firm but still workable.

For extra cohesiveness, you may add 1 to 2 tablespoons of wall paper paste to your dough.
Step 4 Salt Dough 4. If you want a colored dough, add in several drops of food coloring or poster paint. For an all-natural colored dough, you can use food ingredients like coffee, curry, or annatto as colorants. Continue kneading until dough is uniformly colored.

Storage

  • Wrap dough in plastic wrap. For long storage, place wrapped dough inside ziplock bag and place inside the fridge. Remember to label it properly.
  • Salt dough keeps for a long time if wrapped and stored properly. However, you may need to add a bit of water or flour/salt on next use. If dough becomes too sticky, add some flour and salt. If it becomes too dry, add a bit of water.