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Salt Dough

16 replies

SoupDragon · 04/12/2002 12:16

I've just made some salt dough stars (300g plain flour, 300g salt, 200ml water, 1tsp oil, bake for 20 minutes at 180 c) and they've risen.

I was expecting them to remain flat. They look pretty cute all puffed up but is this usual?? I'm planning on getting a bunch of under 5s to decorate them so what they look like now really isn't an issue.

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soothepoo · 04/12/2002 12:37

How did you mix it all up? It may be that you incorporated a lot of air into the mixture when you combined all the ingredients, which would cause the dough to rise in the oven. Mixing everything up in a food processor might help, or use a table knife rather than a spoon to stir.

SoupDragon · 04/12/2002 17:30

Yes, I thought air was the most probable culprit. I've just made some more and took out all my frustrations on the dough to bash the air out. It had some success - some puffed up, some didn't! Clearly I wasn't angry enough with it...

Thanks

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Corbin · 04/12/2002 20:21

I've never heard of salt dough-are they to make christmas ornaments or something? Do you paint them, or how do you do the decorating?

This year we are making all the ornaments for our tree and this sounds like a good idea! So far we are doing gingerbread ornaments, fall leaves ironed between pieces of waxed paper and strung with ribbon and blown eggs which we painted and strung with ribbon. I think we may do the popcorn/cranberry garland thing, but I have a feeling that is a patently US tradition

And I agree, if there is no leavening then it's probably the air. I do know that there is a type of salt-rising bread, but I'm not certain how it works.

SoupDragon · 04/12/2002 20:24

They look like biscuits and bake really hard. It's the same principle as the gingerbread ornaments you're making but inedible.

I plan to varnish them with a mat varnish (stops moisture getting into them and turning them soggy) and then the children will be let loose on them with paint, glue, glitter, whatever...

I've made a hole in them so they can be hung up.

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Corbin · 05/12/2002 01:59

What a great idea, and thank you for posting the recipe!

SoupDragon · 05/12/2002 08:19

There are lots of different recipes on the internet if you search for "salt dough" or "salt doh". They all seem to be slightly different You may find some in US measurements.

As you can see, you may need to work had to get rid of air otherwise they seem to puff up. Despite bashing the dough about, I still had puffiness problems - never before have I had problems not getting my baking to rise! I did come across a slightly differrent recipe on the mumsnet boards actually. If you search the boards for salt dough, you'll find it too - I think it had less salt in it.

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SoupDragon · 05/12/2002 08:20

here's the other thread.

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KMG · 05/12/2002 20:35

SoupDragon - I've never had a problem with salt dough 'rising'. My recipe has half the amount of salt, also I bake it VERY low for 4 - 6 hrs.

Not sure if it's a big problem if they are all puffed up - but maybe they will start to crack?

Tinker · 05/12/2002 20:47

Oh I like the sound of all these homemade decorations. Anymore?

Popcorn and cranberries? Do you use fresh cranberries? Do they go off after a while? Like the image though.

SoupDragon · 07/12/2002 11:00

Last year I spray painted threadable dry pasta gold and the children wer going to thread them into garlands. Would probably work well with the popcorn Corbin mentioned.

I'm trying out the lower salt recipe from the other thread and I'll let you know if end up with flat starts this time.

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Corbin · 08/12/2002 03:06

Tinker,

Cranberries are a surprisingly sturdy fruit, and will last without going bad on the tree for three weeks or so. Towards the end they start getting a little wrinkly, but not rotten. On our strings we go popcorn/cranberry/popcorn etc so it's a nice striped garland. Fun for little ones, but be careful if you're using a needle. You can find blunted craft needles usually that are safer but work just fine.

Tinker · 08/12/2002 14:38

Corbin - thank you. I've just bought a bag of cranberries so will freeze them till next weekend just to get a bit more time out of them.

Corbin · 08/12/2002 16:50

Don't freeze them! When they thaw they will get mushy and they most definetely will go rotten after that! They have to be firm and fresh. Cranberries will last ages in the refrigerator, so just leave them there until you're ready.

Tinker · 08/12/2002 17:15

Phew, thanks Corbin. Haven't do it yet so you've saved me there!

SoupDragon · 19/12/2002 08:54

Well, the stars allrose again but looked cute and everyone had fun decorating them yesterday.

I have a new problem now though: how do I remove the fine layer of glitter that seems to have settled all over my house???

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susanmt · 19/12/2002 22:50

Great Soupdragon. But there is no way to remove the glitter. I caught dd (almost 3) 'making magic' with glitter, water and glue (don't ask) and we have a glittery house too. I just keep repeating 'it's festive, it's festive ....' and it seems to keep me sane!

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