{"id":1808,"date":"2021-06-14T17:54:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T07:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mumknowsbest.com.au\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2021-11-23T17:12:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T06:12:53","slug":"how-to-make-playdough-from-scratch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mumknowsbest.com.au\/how-to-make-playdough-from-scratch\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Playdough From Scratch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When it comes to kids’ activities, playdough has always been a firm favourite – what\u2019s not to love about playdough? It\u2019s fun and engaging, good for fine motor skills and can keep kids occupied for hours…well, a long time anyway! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Mum always made playdough for us at home so it was a no-brainer for me to make playdough from scratch when my kids reached the right age for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, you can buy the colourful, premade Play-Doh that comes in little tubs, but making playdough at home is quick, cheap and easy, so we\u2019ve always made it ourselves from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the process of making playdough is actually quite fun and you can get the kids involved in the process which becomes a whole other activity in itself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are quite a few different ways to make playdough<\/span><\/span><\/a>. I think we\u2019ve tried a lot of them over the years. But, we always come back to the traditional methods I\u2019m going to share with you here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mum always made our playdough in a saucepan on the stove so, to me, that\u2019s the traditional way to make playdough from scratch. And it works every time! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dough is never too sticky or too dry and crumbly, it just works! So I\u2019m going to share this traditional, stovetop playdough making method with you here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, I\u2019m also going to share the boiling water playdough method<\/span><\/a> here too because frankly, it\u2019s a bit easier and it works just as well if not better than the stove-top method. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It cuts out the need for using the stove which can make it a bit more kid friendly if your kids are helping to make it – it still uses boiling water though so take care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Make Playdough On The Stove<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This playdough recipe uses simple ingredients you probably already have at home with the possible exception of Cream of Tartar<\/span><\/a>. If you don\u2019t have cream of tartar you can buy some at the supermarket – it\u2019s usually in the aisle with baking ingredients along with products such as baking powder and citric acid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t have any and don\u2019t have the opportunity to buy any soon you can either check out other playdough recipes that don\u2019t use cream of tartar<\/a><\/span> or you could simply leave it out of this recipe – it won\u2019t turn out as well though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream of tartar not only makes the playdough soft, it also helps it to last longer. If you leave it out, your playdough will still work but it could be a bit dry and crumbly and won\u2019t last as long as the full recipe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the ingredients you need to make playdough from scratch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll need:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  • 1 cup of water<\/li>
  • \u00bd cup of salt<\/li>
  • 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar<\/li>
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil<\/li>
  • Few drops of food colouring<\/li>
  • 1 cup plain flour<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Add water and salt to a saucepan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Add the cream of tartar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Add the oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"show<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Add a few drops of your chosen food colouring. A lot of other methods to make playdough suggest adding the food colouring to the dough once it has already been formed. That way you can separate the mixture into a few piles of dough before colouring and therefore make multiple colours at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve always found that the dough takes on the colour much better if you add it at this stage of the process, with the oil, before cooking. Sure, it means you\u2019ll only get playdough in one colour, but it works out better this way. Also you might notice that the quantities used here are quite small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is mainly because I\u2019d prefer to make a relatively small batch of each colour and just make multiple batches if I want different colours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Put your saucepan on the stove over low-medium heat and stir gently until the salt has dissolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Once the grittiness of the salt has reduced, add your flour and stir it through.<\/p>\n\n\n