Teacher Althea – preschool and summer camp teacher – gets asked about our play dough recipe so often that we’ve decided to share this gem with you all!
The kids love getting their hands on this stuff, it is super squishy, easy to roll and cut ‘cookies’ out of, and stamp with all manner of imprints.
Often, it gets used as pretend cupcakes, spaghetti and sausages in our play kitchen.
Children and toddlers can spend many minutes totally immersed in creating with the dough.
So how to make this superlative stuff?
Here is Teacher Althea’s guide:
I have to thank Teacher Tom for the recipe, and his mom for handing it down to him. The method is one part Tom’s suggestion to stop cooking while it’s sticky, and one part my need for deep sensory experiences combined with impatience! I like to make six- or eight-times this recipe for preschool use.
I think it gets to be a better consistency if you mix the wet ingredients in after the dry ingredients (saving the scent and color for after it’s off the heat). This started when my daughter wanted to help, and she likes to mix after each ingredient is added. I liked the result better than when I just dumped everything into the pot on the stove.
The key to silky, smooth playdoh is not overcooking it. I achieve that by mixing it with my hands on the stove and removing it when it starts to hurt, but you don’t have to go to such extreme lengths! Just remove it earlier than seems reasonable; it will continue to cook off the heat.
-Althea
Recipe:
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (I prefer olive oil)
- food coloring (optional)
- scent (optional, but recommended)
For preschool use, I make 6-8 times this batch
Method:
Mix together dry ingredients in a large pot:
Add in water and cooking oil and stir thoroughly:
Add to heat and stir continuously:
It will start getting lumpy, which is when you should start watching it for done-ness:
I use my hands, and when it gets too hot to touch I know it’s almost done:
When it’s done, it should look pretty well integrated but you should be questioning if it’s actually done. Remember it will continue to cook after it’s removed from heat. It won’t look like playdoh yet and should still be quite lumpy and sticky. It shouldn’t be shiny any more:
Remove it from the pot and lay it on a non-stick pan or parchment paper to cool:
It should still be sticky when pulled apart:
Add in a few drops of kid-safe scent (not very much) and quite a few drops of food coloring (if you use food coloring instead of water-color paint, you can compost playdoh at the end of its use):
Massage to integrate scent and color:
It will surprise you by starting to look like actual playdoh!
Let cool completely before putting it in a sealed container.
You can store it in a plastic bag for many months. It keeps longer in the fridge but should stay good for at least two months at room temperature if sealed.
Woodland Park Cooperative School 