Salt Dough

Salt dough is a must for making basic sculptures. It can be used as an all-natural play dough 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

  • Flour
  • Fine salt
  • Water
  • Food coloring or poster paint (optional)
  • Spoons or spatulas
  • Measuring cups
  • Mixing container (basin or bowl)
  • Wall paper paste (optional)

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. Add about ½ cup water.
Step 3 Salt Dough 3. Mix and knead, adding more water a little bit at a time, if necessary. The desired dough should be firm but still manageable for little hands to work with. If you think your dough is too tough, add a bit of water. If it's too soft, add more salt and flour. 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 stretch wrap. For long storage, place stretch-wrapped dough inside zip-lock bag or wrap in aluminum foil.
  • Place inside 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.