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The basic recipe includes:
one cup of fine salt
one cup of flour
about half a cup of water
Mix the flour and the salt together in a large bowl. Slowly mix in the water (you may need more or less water depending on the type of flour you use). Knead until its a smooth, elastic and non-sticky dough. Next you can either roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to create ornaments, or you can use it as a clay and sculpt 3D items. When you are finished, you can either let air dry on a grate for about a week or bake your item. To bake, put your item in the oven at about 210 degrees. It's best to put your item in the oven while it's still moist. If your item already started to air dry, start the oven at about 120 degrees, then after about 30 min, slowly increase temperature to 210 degrees. For most items, you'll need to bake it for at least 4 hours. The larger and thicker the item, the longer it has to bake. Just keep checking on it, it should sound hollow if it's well cooked.
Variations:
*Add more flour for a softer dough
*Add more salt for more texture
*Use different types of flour such as rye for different colors
*Add chocolate powder, coffee, or spices such as cinnamon, cloves, etc for color and smell
*Add food coloring for a variety of colors
*For a puffier item, substitute half the regular flour with a self rising flour
*For a smoother texture, dissolve the salt in the water before mixing.
Tips:
*While creating with your dough, be sure to wrap up the extra dough you are not using in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
*After your item is dry, you can paint it with acrylics.
*You can use modge podge or polyurethane to seal your item if you've painted it.
*After your item is dry, you can dip it in melted scented wax to seal and scent your item.
*If you are making ornaments, don't forget to poke a hole in your item before it dries.
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