I remember when I first realised how easy it was to make homemade play-dough. It was a game-changer on the parenting front. Easy, imaginative tactile play for hours.
For a couple of years, we tried out all kinds of DIY play-dough recipes the internet swore were the best yet. Until I came across the play-dough at my daughters’ play centre. Turns out they had aced it.
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What the ingredients do in DIY playdough and why quantity matters
A lot of the recipes out there all seem to have similar ingredients; flour, oil, salt. So why couldn’t I get my playdough soft or last? Turns out getting the quantities just right and the type can sometimes make a difference.
Salt – preserves the playdough so that it will last much longer, even a couple of weeks if need be. Once I added too much and the dough turned out very grainy, and dried out pretty fast.
Vegetable oil – choose an inexpensive one that doesn’t smell. Oil helps the dough retain it’s moisture and helps to keep it soft.
Cream of Tartar – Helps to make the playdough soft as well as helps the playdough keep for longer.
All-purpose / Standard / Plain Flour – The kind of flour you use makes a difference to your playdough I’ve discovered. Save your high-grade flour for bread and baking with your kids. To get soft and smooth flour I have found plain or standard flour works best.
Related post: 7 secrets to baking with your kids
Ingredients for homemade play-dough
- 35 grams Cream of Tartar
- 80 mls Oil
- 1 cup Salt
- 5 cups Plain Flour
- 3 cups Hot water + extra
- Food coloring
- few drops Fruit flavoring or hair conditioner (optional)
How to make your large batch of homemade play-dough:
- Mix dry ingredients together
- Add oil and half the hot water to the dry ingredients and mix in as much as possible. Use a spoon for as much of the mixing as possible because of the hot water.
- When it’s cooled down a bit you can carefully knead the mixture, slowly adding the rest of the hot water, until you have a smooth dough. Be careful not to burn hands.
- If having several colours divide the white dough into separate balls.
- Add a few drops of colour into the dough and fold into the dough, trying not to get too much on your hands (or wear gloves). Keep adding colour drops until you have the desired brightness.
- Knead in extra flour if adding the food colouring has made the dough too wet.
- To make the play-dough smell nice add in a squirt of hair conditioner or a few drops of strawberry or coconut flavouring.
- Play.
- When you’ve finished playing, store it in an air-tight container, in a cool place… away from the sun. It should keep for a few weeks.
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I just made this playdough with my daycare class. I am very happy to have a recipe that doesn’t require the stove. I’m not sure why, but I had to add 2 cupsif extra flour. My stovetop recipe calls for 3 cups water and 6 cups flour, so I’m not terribly surprised. The hair conditioner and food colouring probably made it more sticky.
Thank you for your feedback on the recipe Susan. I think when I’ve kneaded the dough I’ve always used some extra flour to stop it from sticking, however 2 cups is a lot! But I’ve been told that our flour in NZ is quite different. Maybe that’s it. Hope you have some happy play with your sweet ones!