Is it possible to bake salted dough? How to dry salt dough in the oven: methods and tips. Possible problems and their solutions

Drying is a very important stage in the manufacture of salt dough products. Imagine: you conceived and created something wonderful from it. And suddenly - as a result of hasty or incorrect firing - the product cracked and everything went down the drain! This is truly a big disappointment!

Outdoors at room temperature

You can dry the craft outdoors in a dry place. The thicker the product, the longer it will take. But this method is the most economical.

However, keep in mind that air drying will create indentations on the surface of the product that is in contact with the table.

When air drying, moisture evaporates slowly, so it takes 1 day of drying to dry every millimeter of product thickness.

In summer, use the heat of the sun to dry: place the product ready for drying in a sunny place.

Drying time in an electric stove oven

1 hour - at t 50°C
1-2 hours - at 75°C
1 hour - at t 100-125°C
0.5 hours - at t 150°C

Larger pieces will require more time to dry.

You can also use another calculation formula: drying time in an electric stove oven is 1 hour for every 0.5 cm of thickness at a temperature of 75°C. Further, regardless of thickness:

1/2 hour at 100°C
1/2 hour at 125°C
1 hour at 150 °C
Browning - at 200°C strictly under supervision!

Note . The black baking tray heats up more, and at all stages of drying the temperature is reduced by 25°C.

It is difficult to calculate exactly the time it will take to dry crafts in the oven. All ovens are slightly different. Therefore, to reduce the frustration of ruined work, make several samples, for example, make cakes of different thicknesses and dry them in your oven, changing the temperature.

After drying the salt dough figures in the oven, cool them. While the items are hot, they are very fragile, so handle them with care.

When drying in the oven, first turn on only the top heat and dry the product on it until its surface begins to brown. After this, the product is no longer deformed. Then place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. If you want to give the product a beige tint, use the top heat a little longer.

If a slight bulge appears on the product or the product bulges slightly, the temperature in the oven is too high, in which case cracks may form on the back of the product.

In the oven (gas or electric stove)

Drying a product in a gas stove takes half as much time as in an electric one.

Example . A wreath in an electric stove is dried until ready in 6 hours, but drying the same wreath in a gas stove takes only 3 hours! By slightly opening the oven door, you can adjust the temperature in the gas stove (on the lowest heat):

1 hour - door half open
1 hour - for a quarter
1 hour - door closed

To brown the product until brown, add gas and constantly monitor the product so as not to burn it.

To dry the finished product, carefully, using a wide knife or spatula, transfer it from the work table to a baking sheet sprinkled with flour, being careful not to damage it during transfer.

Dry the craft for two days, first in the open air, then in the oven at a temperature of 50°C, gradually increasing the temperature, but not higher than 150°C. If the temperature is too high, the product may swell, sometimes even cracks appear. Swollen crafts cannot be fixed, and cracks are easy to cover up. To do this, dilute a little flour with water, add PVA glue, mix well and apply this mixture to the crack, then rub the mixture into it with a stick or your finger.

The product should not remain damp. Its readiness is determined by its sound. By tapping the finished product with your finger, you will hear a ringing sound. If the sound is dull, the product needs to be dried.

For large items, you can use combined drying: first for several days in the air, then in the oven.

Note. If you start drying the product with the oven door closed, bubbles will form on the surface.

On the heating battery

This method is very convenient to use in winter, when the central heating radiators are well heated. Place the craft on foil or cloth and leave it on the radiator until completely dry.

Combined drying

First, the product is air-dried for several days, and then dried in the oven. This method is especially suitable for bulky items, such as wreaths.

Hot air drying in the grill

Salt dough products can also be dried and fired with hot air in special ovens. Electricity consumption in this case will be insignificant, since several baking sheets can be loaded at once. The grill is also suitable for drying dough products, especially since it will require less energy than an electric stove.

Microwave

The microwave oven is not suitable for drying salt dough products.

How to determine if items are completely dry

Tap the product with your index finger. If the sound is muffled, it means that the inside of the model is damp and it needs to be left in the oven for a while. If the sound is ringing, it means the product is dried. If you have already taken the product from the baking sheet, place it on an oven mitt and tap it on the inside.

Browning

Once you are sure that all the products in the oven are completely dry, the temperature in it can be increased to 200°C. Do not leave the oven and watch until the product acquires the desired shade of brown. After varnishing the product, the brown color will be even more saturated. If parts of the product become too dark while browning, cover them with aluminum foil while the entire product continues to brown.

Advice . If you are in doubt about how long you need to fire the piece to get the desired color, brush the light and dark areas with a brush dipped in water and you will see how the browned piece will look after varnishing.

1. To ensure that the crafts are well preserved, after they are dried and painted, cover them with transparent liquid varnish. This will reliably protect them from moisture. If you don't like mirror shine, then use matte varnish.

2. ATTENTION! Products made from colored dough, except those to which cocoa powder has been added, should be dried at a temperature not exceeding 125°C, otherwise their color may change.

How to make crafts from salt dough/Snake talisman WITH YOUR OWN HANDS))

Before we start making gifts from salt dough, we need to answer the question:

What do we need to work with salt dough? Before start kneading the dough prepare:

rolling pin;
scissors for making uneven surfaces;
a plastic knife or a stack can be used - a tool for modeling clay and other soft materials;
sharpened stick or pencil.

Everything is included - buttons to make textured prints, curved manicure scissors, various seeds and cereals (you can make an ornament out of them), fabrics, twigs, dried flowers and embossed fresh leaves (geranium, for example), a knife, a wooden kebab stick, wire to create a frame in large products, baking foil, “Moment” type glue, paints, brushes, stacks for working with clay or plasticine, varnishes are highly desirable.

Once our tools are ready to go, we begin preparing dough:

1) Take 1 dining room spoon of flour with a handful and the same spoon of salt(best fit extra salt, but if it is not there, then ordinary salt can be used after sifting it through a sieve). Mix, add 1 tablespoon spoon of water And vegetable oil .

The water should only be cold.

After you knead everything well, the dough should be soft, elastic, but in no case liquid. Look at your dough and add water or flour if necessary. If you need a larger quantity of dough, the specified components increase by the same number of times.
2). Place the finished dough in a plastic bag.

Before we start sculpting, let's salt dough lie in the refrigerator for a while - at least half an hour. In general, the dough can be stored in this way for a long time. If before modeling you find that the dough has softened, add flour to it and knead thoroughly.

When your product is small - up to 1 centimeter thick, it can be dried at room temperature.

Products with a thickness of more than 1 cm are better dry in the oven at the lowest temperature - 5-8 hours or more.

Since in this case the advice is generally general, based on the situation, look at how much time your product has to “get ready”.
We highly recommend take your time when drying salt dough products. By heating the oven too much, the dough will simply swell from the high temperature and the product will lose its shape.
After baking the product in the oven, you can paint with watercolors or gouache.

And after complete drying, it is advisable to coat the product with colorless varnish.

1 step Prepare the dough.
Mix 1 cup salt and 1 cup flour in a bowl. Add half a glass of water and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Knead like regular dough.
If the dough is too soft, add salt and flour to it at a ratio of one to one until the dough becomes more dense.
Place the dough in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Step 2

Now color the dough. For this you will need a set of gouache or acrylic paints. The paint should be soft. If it is dry, add water to it.

Step 3

Take a lump of dough and roll between your palms. Add some paint. Your hands will get a little dirty. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, grease them with sunflower oil.

Step 4

Add paint gradually and continue rolling the piece of dough until it becomes uniform in color.
After rolling out a long sausage, fold it in half and roll again. All “marble” stains should disappear.

Step 5

Prepare a set of colored mass in this way. Part of the uncolored dough will act as white.

To achieve the desired shade, you need to take 2 pieces of dough and knead them together until the dough becomes homogeneous.

blue + white = light blue
white + red = pink
blue + pink = purple
blue + yellow = green
yellow + red = orange
green + red = brown
green + blue = emerald

Step 6

Now prepare your work area for modeling. You will need a table, polyethylene to cover the table, a brush, a modeling board, and a glass of water.

Step 7

Finished dough products need to be fired in the oven. The firing time depends on the thickness of the product. The temperature should not be too high to prevent the product from burning. Set the electric stove to the lowest heat setting. If you have a gas stove, open the oven door slightly.
You can dry the product and on the battery, and in the sun, but they will dry out no earlier than in a week.

Step 8

After this, the dough products can be painted and varnished. For coloring you can take acrylic paint or gouache with a little PVA glue added.

For varnishing, use acrylic varnish. It is water soluble and dries in 6-8 hours.

Modeling appeared many centuries ago, and now it is impossible to say with certainty who exactly was the discoverer.

In Rus' it was customary to give salt dough crafts for the New Year (then celebrated on September 1) and for weddings as a sign of satiety, fertility and prosperity.

Nowadays, handmade things have become very popular, especially if they are also environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, during the First and Second World Wars, due to food shortages, people completely forgot about this type of art. testoplasty. Yes, even in Soviet times, salt dough molding was not particularly popular.

But today, bakery products have received a chance for a rebirth. Masters have appeared who have reached unprecedented heights in modeling salt dough; their hands create real masterpieces.

Modeling from dough is very interesting and quite simple. The most important thing is to apply a little patience and imagination. Testoplasty will not require almost any material costs, because all you need is salt, flour and water.

Often, in addition to the main components, additional components are added, such as starch, vegetable oil, glue, etc.

It is imperative to remember that salt should be finely ground, for quick dissolution. Otherwise, crystals will appear in the finished product and it will not be possible to make the surface smooth.

If you only have coarse salt on hand, then before you start kneading the dough, you need to dilute it with the amount of water specified in the recipe or grind it in a coffee grinder. The water must only be cold. It is better to take inexpensive varieties of flour, without raising agents, emulsifiers and other additives.

Let's look at the basic recipe, on the principle by which everyone else prepares.

Mix in a deep bowl two cups of wheat flour with one cup of salt and add about 2/3 cup of water.

The amount of water depends on the type of flour. Knead the dough thoroughly; its density should resemble softened plasticine. If it sticks to your hands, add a little more flour. To make it more elastic, wrap it in oilcloth to prevent it from drying out and put it in the refrigerator for several hours. Now you can get to work.

For large products, a slightly different recipe is used. The dough consists of four parts salt, two parts flour and one part water.

Small parts when sculpting, require special care, in this case, it is better to combine 200 g. salt, 300 gr. flour, 3 tablespoons of glycerin and 2 tablespoons of wallpaper glue diluted in 125 ml of water. Glycerin will give the dough good plasticity and softness, and the glue will be strong.

There is also a recipe for salt dough with added starch. Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup starch, 1 cup salt and 2/3 cup water. The result is soft, airy and pliable dough, which is a pleasure to work with.

If you do not want to color the finished product, but are thinking of giving it the natural color of baked ruddy bread , then for kneading, take half of the rye and wheat flour from the amount indicated in the recipe.

Use only rye flour is undesirable, since the dough will turn out inelastic, hard and will crumble when working. Also, it’s a good idea to add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or rich cream to the main ingredients.

There are two ways to work with the dough. You can roll out the layer and cut out various flat figures from it. But if you want to add volume, it is better to sculpt individual parts, and when they dry a little, combine them into the intended composition and bake. When working with vertical three-dimensional figures (figurines), a wire frame is used.

Drying of finished products is carried out in the oven.

If, according to your idea, the color of the product should remain white , then place the figurine on the top shelf of the oven and set the temperature to no more than 100 degrees.

In case of overheating, bubbles and cracks appear. Keep the door slightly open. Bake for 1.5-2 hours until the dough hardens and browns, but it is not advisable to overbake.

There is another, longer method - drying in the open air. The moisture evaporates very slowly, and the figurine dries by about 1-2 millimeters per day.

Products made from salt dough can also be dried on a radiator, but in this case there is a high probability that they will crack and become deformed.

Coloring occurs either at the kneading stage, or finished, dried products are painted.

When making dough, it is best to use natural dyes. (juice of beets, carrots, parsley, etc.) or food (previously diluted in water).

If already dry figures are painted , then immediately after cooling, you need to prime the surface with white gouache and then paint it, as your imagination dictates.

After the paint has dried, coat the work with clear varnish. After baking, salted dough absorbs moisture very well, and in order to prevent it from getting soft, you should not delay varnishing.

If you do not have time to use all the dough, wrap the remaining piece in a plastic bag or oilcloth and put it in the refrigerator. This storage method makes it possible for the dough not to deteriorate or dry out for several months.

Salt dough recipe: - 1 part fine salt- 2 parts flour - half a cup of warm water

Mix all ingredients thoroughly until smooth. The result should be a nice, pliable dough that does not stick to your hands and holds its shape.

Workplace

It is best to sculpt on a large, level table.

It is better to cut figures from salt dough immediately on the surface where they will dry, otherwise, when transferring the raw dough, the figures may lose their shape.

If you are going to dry the salt dough figures at room temperature, then, for example, a large flat dish wrapped in foil is suitable for this. Foil, unlike parchment paper, does not allow the figures to “shrink” and stick. If you are going to dry the crafts in the oven, you can immediately cut them out on a baking sheet by placing a piece of cardboard on it and covering it with foil.

Making salt dough: how and with what?

For warming up, or if you are sculpting with small children, you can start with simple-shaped products: balls, sausages, cakes, etc.

The thickness of the figures should be from 0.5 cm to 1 cm.

A wide variety of objects can be printed on the surface of such figures, such as buttons, pasta, cereals, beads - then the products will acquire interesting reliefs, and the more relief the figures are, the more interesting it will be to paint them.

To prevent the objects you use to make imprints on the salt dough from sticking to it, they need to be lubricated with vegetable oil.

More complex figures - for example, Christmas trees, snowmen, houses, animal faces - can be sculpted either as separate elements or as one whole (whichever is more convenient for you). Carefully cut out the parts of the toys; If you have problems connecting parts, moisten the joints with water using a brush.

How to dry salt dough products?

There are two ways: fast and not so fast.

A not very fast way is to dry salt dough toys at room temperature - this takes 2-4 days. An indicator that the product has dried is that it easily “moves away” from the foil.

The second method, much faster, is drying in an electric oven at a minimum temperature, for example at 50 degrees. With this method, the products will dry in a few hours.

A little trick: for the first hour you can dry the products on both sides (top and bottom) until a white coating forms, and then switch the stove toBottom heating mode only.

After our decorations have dried, we can start painting.

Found it There are a lot of recipes online, I chose the simplest one:
- a glass of flour
- half a glass of fine salt
- a teaspoon of PVA glue
- oh, and of course, 100 ml of water (125 turned out to be a lot)

I kneaded it, separated half and mixed blue paint into the white dough.
The result is an amazing blue color

Interesting experience)
Of the pros and cons:
- the dough dries out quickly (but, again, you can slightly wet it with water and revive it))
- my products are quite thin, so when drying in the oven, they tended to become deformed (I had to constantly turn them over) and this was with minimal heat and a completely open oven lid
- for the next batch, I decided to dry them first in the sun, the same garbage - it twists, so the turning process was saved
- it takes a long, long time for this whole thing to dry...(

With polymer clay, the whole process would take a maximum of a day, but here it’s 2.5...
But still, I was satisfied with the result)

About varnishes separately.

Dough products absorb moisture very well and tend to deteriorate over time, so they are varnished to preserve them. In this case, the varnish must be thick enough, otherwise it will be absorbed and stains will remain on the product. Boat varnish is best suited for this purpose. But there are different varnishes - matte or glossy. It's different for every case.

So, the tool is there, and so is the desire. All that remains is to prepare the dough. I will give several dough recipes and strongly advise you to follow the proportions. This will help avoid disappointment in the future. You may sometimes need to add a little water depending on the quality of the flour.

Salt dough recipes:

Dough for simple models:
200 gr. flour
200 gr. salt

125 ml water

Strong dough for large products:
200 gr. flour
400 gr. salt
125 ml water

Strong dough for tiles and boards:
200 gr. flour
400 gr. salt
2 tbsp. glue for simple wallpaper
125 ml water

Dough for fine work:
300 gr. flour
200 gr. salt
4 tbsp. glycerin (can be purchased at a pharmacy)
2 tbsp. glue for simple wallpaper + 125-150 ml of water, pre-mix

For all types of dough (except for dough for delicate work), the glue is first diluted according to the instructions indicated on the packaging and is measured ready-made.

It is better to use a mixer for kneading - this will simplify the task, and the dough will turn out better..

The next stage is the modeling itself. The main advice is to never, under any circumstances, restrain your imagination. Use everything you can use - from toothpicks and shells to guipure and cobblestones.

The dough can be immediately colored by adding various dyes (coffee, cocoa, water-based paints). Or paint ready-made dough.
—If you want to create something based on the board(picture, sign), it is better to first roll out the dough to a thickness of 1-1.5 cm, cut out the required shape from it and let it dry for several days. After this, apply the remaining parts to it, using the same salty dough, diluted to a mushy state, as glue.

— Fresh parts are held together with a brush and water

— In large volumetric products (such as my hedgehogs), a tightly formed ball of baking foil is placed inside and tightly covered with dough. There should be no holes or cracks left. In this form, the product will not deform during drying, less material will be spent on it and the product will dry faster.

— To create hedgehog spines, nail scissors with curved ends are used. Light cuts are made in a checkerboard pattern. And for the eyes, black peppercorns are used.
- Garlic is used to create hair and grass
- Use toothpicks to attach the doll's head to the body.
— Form the product on a piece of foil - this will simplify the work
— To prevent dough from sticking to the tool or object from which you want to make an imprint, wipe it with a cloth lightly soaked in vegetable oil.

Drying salt dough products

I prefer to dry salt dough products without using an oven. using heat from batteries or solar heat in summer. Dried products thus retaining their white color. This drying process takes quite a long time (it all depends on the thickness of the dough). 1 mm - 1 day.

Oven drying possible. But even with this method, the product must first air dry for a couple of days. You cannot bake the product!!! It should dry at the lowest temperature with the door slightly open. Electric ovens with a fan are good in this regard.

When the product is dry, painted and varnished, it can be attached, for example, to a frame covered with burlap inside, or to a balsa wood slab. Or it will hang on its own by the glued loop. You can make it yourself from strong tape or a large paper clip.

Then you can complement the composition with fabric (a doll’s dress or a curtain), beads, shells or dried flowers (they should be pre-treated with aerosol varnish).

And lastly, remember that handmade products take on your energy, so always sit down to work only in a good mood.

If you have to dry a craft for the first time, it will be useful to learn some subtleties. First of all, you need to understand the difference between drying and baking. It is a mistaken belief that an oven – electric or gas – is only suitable for baking. You can also dry the dough in it. It is important to know how and for how long.

There are several ways to dry salt dough:

in the sun;
at room temperature;
on battery;
in the oven;
in the microwave;
in a combined way.

Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Type of drying	pros	Minuses
In the sun	Does not require energy consumption	The craft takes a long time to dry
At room temperature	Economical	It takes a long time to dry. Indentations will remain on the product in contact with any surface.
On battery	Convenient to use in winter when the batteries are warm	The area does not allow drying volumetric figures
In the oven	The fastest way	Difficult to calculate temperature
In the microwave		Microwave cannot be used!
Combined method	Suitable for drying large crafts	Labour intensive

How long will it take to dry the craft?

Let's take a closer look at how long it will take a dough product to dry in one way or another.

In the sun or in the room. The most economical method, as it does not require gas or electricity consumption. But with this method, every millimeter of the craft will take 24 hours to dry. This will happen much faster in the sun. This option is not suitable for large figures.
In an electric oven. Time is calculated using the formula - 1 hour for every half centimeter of product thickness at a temperature of 75 degrees. Place the figurine in a cold oven. The temperature is increased every hour by 25 degrees.
In a gas oven. Here, dough products dry twice as fast. Dry over low heat with the door slightly open. The first hour it is opened halfway, the second hour - a quarter, the third - the door is closed.
Combined method. For two days, the craft is kept in the air, then sent to the oven for an hour, heated to 50 degrees, gradually increasing the temperature to a maximum of 150. This method is good for large products.
On the battery (radiator). First cover the radiator with foil or cloth. It is better to place a board or plywood so that the ribbed surface of the battery does not deform the molding. Keep until completely dry.
It is not recommended to dry salt dough in the microwave, since drying requires a very long time, which is not provided for in the software.
Drying on the grill. An effective method, since everything will dry evenly. Electricity consumption is relatively low.

Drying will be more effective if done in several stages. Dry in the oven for an hour on one side, 24 hours at room temperature, the next day dry on the other side in the oven for an hour and a half.

What should I do to prevent the product from swelling or cracking?

Bloating, cracks, brittleness. A carefully sculpted figurine can easily be ruined. Therefore, it is important to know a few secrets.

The salt dough should be dried either on a light baking sheet, or take into account the stronger heating of a dark baking sheet. In this case, the temperature must be reduced by 25 degrees.
Hot products are very brittle. They should either be cooled on a baking sheet or removed with a spatula very carefully.
The figures should not be raw. Readiness is checked in the old-fashioned way - you need to carefully tap the product with your finger. If the sound is ringing, the craft is ready; if it is dull, it needs to be dried.
An under-dried craft will soon begin to deteriorate, change color and crack.
To avoid bubbles, it is recommended to start drying with the oven door open.
Before starting drying, the oven is heated to a minimum, they begin to dry on the top shelf, after the product is browned, it is placed on the middle one.
The appearance of bubbles and swelling is a sign that the temperature must be lowered immediately, otherwise cracks will appear.
Bubbles cannot be removed from the figure, but cracks can be carefully covered with PVA glue.
Figures made from colored dough should be dried at a temperature no higher than 125 degrees so that the color does not change.
The oven cannot be heated to more than 125 degrees if the craft is to be white. For the browning effect, the oven is heated to 200 degrees.
After drying and painting, finished crafts are varnished to protect them from moisture.

The cause of cracking may be flour chosen incorrectly. It should not contain additives. You can add rye flour or 2 tbsp to the wheat flour. spoons of starch. The plasticity of the modeling dough is given by PVA glue (a tablespoon per glass of flour).

Products made from salt dough are one of the most accessible types of creativity. Sculpt with your children, dry correctly, and most importantly, as much as necessary. Enjoy the process!

Recipe No. 1 - for proscool crafts.

200 g = (1 cup) flour

200 g = (0.5 cup) salt (fine, NOT rock).

125 ml water

note, salt is heavier than flour, so they are the same in weight, and in terms of volume, salt takes up about half as much.

For thin relief figures, add your choice:

15-20 g (tablespoon) PVA glue or

starch (tablespoon)

wallpaper glue (mix it with a little water first)

Recipe No. 2 - Strong dough for large products:

200 g flour

400 g salt

125 ml water

Recipe No. 3 - Dough for delicate work:

300 g flour

200 g salt

4 tbsp. glycerin (can be purchased at a pharmacy)

2 tbsp. glue for simple wallpaper + 125-150 ml of water, pre-mix.

It is better to use a mixer for kneading - this will simplify the task, and the dough will turn out better.

Universal salt dough recipe:

2 cups of flour; You can add dry starch to the flour without going beyond the norm of two glasses. For example, 1.5 cups flour + 1/2 tbsp. starch. With the addition of starch, the dough will become more elastic. This dough makes thin parts especially well, for example, flower petals.), 1 glass of salt, 1 half glass of water, approximately 180 g, you can add 2 tablespoons. spoons of PVA glue. Instead of water, you can cook a starch paste.

Mix all ingredients.

Knead the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous and elastic; if the dough turns out to be runny, you can knead it further, adding a little flour until it becomes elastic.

Water can be replaced with starch jelly, then the mass will be much more plastic. Kissel is made like this:

Dissolve one tablespoon of starch in 1/2 cup of cold water. Heat another 1 cup of water in a small saucepan until it boils. Pour the starch solution into boiling water, stirring. When the contents of the pan thicken and become transparent, turn off the heat. Let the jelly cool and pour it into the flour and salt mixture instead of water.

METHODS OF COLORING SALT DOUGH

You can tint salt dough food coloring , watercolor or gouache. You can color it when preparing the dough, introducing the dye during kneading, and the actual finished product - on the surface.

An excellent chocolate color is obtained by adding cocoa. You can experiment with other natural dyes - soot, beet juice, carrots, ocher, etc. You can brown the salt dough product in the oven for a natural color.

When tinting, you must take into account that after drying the color will become less saturated, but if you cover the craft with varnish, it will become brighter again.

What varnish can I use? Acrylic and artistic are very good. It is also possible to use ordinary water-based construction materials for breathable surfaces, i.e. for parquet or wood.

FEATURES AND METHODS OF PREPARING SALT DOUGH:

There are a few things you can't do with salt dough. So, for example, you cannot add pancake flour (or flour with any other additives) to the salted dough, since the figures will rise like good pie dough and crack when dry.

Also, you cannot add iodized salt; large inclusions do not dissolve, and subsequently the dough is not homogeneous - it turns into grains. Likewise, rock salt should not be added without first dissolving it.

About the water. So, it is best to use very cold water in the dough; Be sure to add 50 ml in parts, after each addition, knead (due to the fact that different flours may require different amounts of water).

The salt is first mixed with flour, and only then water is poured into the finished mass.

Salt dough is stored in a plastic bag or tightly closed container. It is better to take salted dough out of a plastic bag in small pieces, since lumps of dough quickly become crusty and when rolled out or molded, these dry crusts spoil the appearance.

And one more thing, if the figures are thick (more than 7 mm), then after the first stage, you need to remove the excess dough from the back side.

The dough may be too soft. Then proceed as follows: mix a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of salt at the bottom of a bowl. Press the ball of dough into this mixture and then scrunch it up. Do this until the dough becomes more dense.

You can sculpt or cut out figures directly on a baking sheet. The baking sheet should first be moistened with water; in this case, bubbles will not form between the product and the surface of the baking sheet, therefore, the surface of the product will be smooth and stable.

Everything that falls off is simply wonderful and, most importantly, it is glued invisibly with PVA glue.

Swelling or cracking of salt dough crafts occurs in three cases:

1. If the flour is chosen incorrectly. For greater strength, you can add rye flour to the dough (the color will be warmer and there should be no cracking) (for example, a glass of regular flour + a glass of rye flour, 1 to 1), 50 gr. starch - also gives the dough elasticity and prevents it from cracking. You can also add PVA glue, since it also gives plasticity and prevents the dough from rising.

2. If drying is not done correctly.

3. If cracking occurs after painting, this means that the product has not completely dried (the product continues to dry and the air has to go somewhere), so the surface of the paint or varnish is cracking. Take your time to paint or varnish the product, so as not to regret it later and not to redo it.

HOW TO DRY SALT DOUGH?

It is best to air dry under natural conditions, but this takes a long time (complete drying can take a week or more - especially if the humidity during drying is high - since salt draws out moisture), so you can dry it in the oven, following several rules.

The oven should be at minimum temperature

It’s good if drying occurs with the oven lid slightly open.

You cannot put items into a hot oven immediately; heating should occur gradually. Just like taking the product out of the oven, it is better if it cools gradually instead of with the oven.

It is ideal to dry in several stages: dry for an hour with one

sides, turn the craft over, dry from the inside out. I also take breaks between drying, it dries in the oven for an hour - it dries on its own for a day - then again for an hour and a half in the oven on the reverse side.

The drying time for a salt dough product depends on the thickness of the product itself. And also on the manufacturing recipe used. So, dough containing butter, cream, etc. dries much longer than dough without oil-containing additives.

To avoid cracking of the product, you can dry it in three to four stages, in the oven at the very minimum and always with the lid open for about an hour and a half, then a break of two to three hours, or overnight, the craft dries itself, and then again Turn the oven on low with the lid open.

During natural and oven drying, the craft must be rotated at each stage of drying, i.e. It dries with the front side for an hour, rests, at the next stage it is turned over and dries with the back side.

Modeling from salt dough is a fascinating activity that both adults and children enjoy mastering. Its advantage lies in its accessibility, because it does not involve serious financial costs. The material contains no harmful impurities, it is soft and plastic, which means that wonderful figures can be made from it. How to dry salt dough, and what recipe to choose for its preparation?

Features of working with salt dough

Play dough is an excellent basis for creating original crafts. Anyone can work with him. To prepare it, simple ingredients are used - water, flour and salt. Note that, unlike gypsum, it is much more plastic. The main thing is to strictly observe the proportions and dry the salt dough correctly.

How to make dough for crafts

Play dough can be prepared according to different recipes. For the base you will need flour, salt, water. In some cases, vegetable oil, dyes (gouache or natural juice), glycerin, and glue are added to the mixture.

Recipe 1

For the test you will need:

finely ground salt – 200 g;
flour – 200 g;
vegetable oil – 70 ml;
water.

In a deep bowl, mix the dry ingredients, then add oil and water to the desired consistency.

Recipe 2

For the base you need to prepare:

flour – 300 g;
salt – 200 g;
water – 0.5 cups.

All components need to be combined and kneaded into a dough. If the base is intended to create thin relief figures, you must add PVA glue (20 ml) or starch (20 g) to the mixture.

Recipe 3

This recipe calls for the following ingredients:

wheat flour – 400 g;
salt – 200 g;
water – 0.5 tbsp.;
hand cream - 20 ml.

All components must be mixed so that a homogeneous mixture is obtained. This can be done by hand or using a blender. The dough will be soft and pliable.

Recipe 4

This recipe is suitable for sculpting three-dimensional figures. For the test you will need:

flour and fine salt - 200 g each;
water – 0.5 cups;

Mix salt and flour, pour water into the dry mixture. The result should be a plastic homogeneous mass.

Recipe 5

For this recipe you will need:

flour – 1.5 tbsp;
salt – 200 g;
glycerin – 60 ml;
wallpaper glue (40 ml) and water (125-150 ml).

A base of flour and water is suitable for making fragile figurines. It is advisable to mix the ingredients with a mixer or blender.

What tools will you need?

To create dough and figures you need to prepare the following tools:

a small rolling pin;
modeling board;
small knife;
brush;
cookie cutters;
a bowl of water
decorative elements (beads, lace, buttons);
ballpoint pen refill.

Drying methods

After the figure is molded, you need to make it harden. How to dry salt dough? This can be done in different ways:

Drying in a hot oven. It is necessary to set the temperature to 50-80 °C and let the oven heat up. Place the figures on a baking sheet lined with parchment. The drying time for the dough figures will be about an hour. The exact time depends on the size of the product. If you properly dry salt dough products, you will be able to avoid cracks and chips.
Drying in natural conditions. Figures made from salt dough can be dried in the open air. This method takes more time than the first, but it is quite effective. The product must be placed on a surface made of wood or plastic. The whole process will take about 3-4 days. It is important that the figurine is not exposed to open rays of the sun or near a battery, otherwise the figurine will begin to crumble or crack.
Cold method (in the oven). The product must be placed in a cold oven, then turned on and preheated to 150 °C. As soon as the figures are dry, you need to turn off the oven, wait for it to cool completely and only then take out the crafts.

How to decorate figurines

It is important to know not only how to dry salt dough crafts, but also how to decorate them correctly. After the product has dried, it can be painted with gouache, watercolor or acrylic paint.

Coloring methods:

Mix watercolor paints with water and apply to the product.
Combine gouache and PVA glue and cover the figure with an even layer.
The figurine can be given a beautiful color even before it is sculpted. To do this, you need to roll out a ball of dough, make a depression in it, add a few drops of dye there and knead.

To decorate the figures, you can use beads, shells, seed beads, rhinestones, ribbons, and lace.

Do the figures need to be varnished?

We have learned how to dry salt dough products, now let's paint the finished craft with varnish to prevent the paint from fading and extend its service life.

For varnishing you can use different types of varnish:

Liquid. Apply to the figure in several layers.
Thick. Protects the craft from moisture. You can use a varnish with a gloss effect or a matting composition.
Spray varnish. Protects the craft from cracking and gives the product brightness.

Modeling figures from dough: what problems can you encounter?

So, at what temperature should you dry salt dough to prevent it from cracking? When designing a product or during drying, a number of problems may arise. The main ones include:

The appearance of cracks and bubbles after drying. This may be due to the use of incorrectly selected flour or non-compliance with drying rules. For figured products, low-grade inexpensive flour is suitable. You need to dry the craft in a preheated oven with the door ajar.
Cracking after paint application. If you paint a craft that is not completely dry, cracks will appear. How to dry salt dough in this case? You need to let it dry in the fresh air, smooth out the defects with sandpaper and reapply the coloring composition.
The product is cracked in the center. This may be due to the fact that the thickness is too large. In order for a voluminous product to dry evenly in the oven, it should be turned over from time to time.
The appearance of chips. For gluing you need to use PVA glue. An area with defects can be disguised using decorative elements.
The color of the craft has become dull. The brightness of the color will return after applying the varnish.

Conclusion

Crafts made from dough turn out beautiful and original. If you follow all the subtleties of working with the base for modeling and know how to dry the salt dough in the oven, the figures will not lose their original appearance for a long time.