Fun at Home: Easy-to-make Play Dough
Home-made playdough is quick and easy to make. It’s super cheap and can last for months. But the main reason I prefer it to buying the ready-made stuff from the shops is that my daughter gets involved in the making process, as well as playing with it for hours afterwards too. Once made, my little girl will grab the squidgy coloured balls of dough, cutters, a rolling pin and head out to her mud kitchen in the garden to ‘bake biscuits’.
The squishy texture of playdough feels great in little fingers. Add colour or aroma to make it even more exciting. Playdough is suitable for when you are stuck indoors with the rain pouring down the windows, or when it’s sunny and bright outside. This will keep your children occupied for long enough so you can at least drink a hot cup of tea (for a change!).
Here’s my recipe for success.
Ingredients:
● 250g white flour
● 50g salt
● 140ml warm water
● 4tbsp vegetable oil
● Food coloring; some say optional, but I think this is a must!
● Aromas; optional
● Ziplock plastic bags or Tupperware containers with well-sealing lids.
Method:
1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the water (the warmer the better) to the dry ingredients.
3. Mix and knead for about 5 minutes. The longer you knead for the better the texture will be.
4. Add the vegetable oil and knead in again.
5. In a separate bowl mix the colouring and/or aroma you want for your playdough.
6. Split your dough into the number of colours or aromas you want.
7. Create a small well in a ball of dough. Drop in the colour/aroma and knead until they have been fully absorbed.
8. Store each colour in a separate ziplock bag, squeezing the air out before sealing.
Top Tips:
1. My American friend swears by putting cream of tartar in her playdough; it makes the dough a little more stretchy. It’s not that easy to find it in the UK though. If you have managed to get your hands on some, add it with the dry ingredients at the start. Instead of just mixing the liquids in, put on the hob and heat whilst you are mixing to get all the components to bind properly.
2. Add some aroma to make your dough smell totally lush. I like peppermint extract (just a couple of drops). This one from Waitrose has a lovely zing. Others that work too are rose, vanilla, caramel or citrus oils/extracts; cinnamon powder (half a teaspoon is fine) or even winter spices (again, just a sprinkling). Make sure the aromas are food-grade and safe if consumed by kiddies.
3. If you want to go all out unicorn happy, add some glitter powder too. Hobbycraft do a lovely edible Gold Rainbow Dust Glitter if you think your little one might try to eat the playdough. The colour will fade faster than other glitter over time though.
4. Wear gloves if you are using colouring, if you don’t want to look like you are getting into fancy dress for Halloween.
5. If the playdough is starting to dry out a little, work in a few drops of vegetable oil and it should refresh it nicely.
