How to Make Salt Dough

Salt Dough Sculpture for RIBA competition

Salt Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water

Directions: In a large bowl, mix table salt and flour together. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water and mix to desired consistency. Knead the dough on a flat surface, adding a few more drops of water as needed (but not making it too moist).

Once the dough is made, you can divide it up into small portions to roll into 1/8" thick pieces with a rolling pin. Use cookie cutters to cut out a variety of shapes, and place the shapes on wax paper or other surface to dry. If you want to make hanging ornaments, pierce the dough through with a toothpick while it's wet.

Allow the shapes to dry for a day or two, turning them over periodically to speed up the drying process. You may need to re-pierce the hole several times during the drying process. After the shapes dry, you can use a fine grit sandpaper to gently smooth any rough edges.

Baking Alternative       

Instead of allowing the dough shapes to air dry, you can bake them in the oven at 200F degrees until hard. Baking times varies depending on oven and dough thickness. Make sure the dough is completely baked. You can cover the dough with aluminum foil if it starts to darken before completely baked through.

 Salt dough sculpture  (cover glass bowl in foil or plastic so the salt dough will peel off the glass bowl)

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