{"title":"How to Make Playdough","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-make-playdough","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Sea Lemon","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGbxOeCBuGSsKvt4g9lEv3A","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAIAm6BF0fs"},"tldr":"Homemade playdough with flour, salt and water in 5 minutes. No cooking needed. Colouring tips, how to fix sticky dough, and how to store it.","totalDurationSeconds":164,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["Mixing bowl","Measuring cups","Spoon","Airtight container or zip-top bag"],"materials":["All-purpose flour","Table salt","Water","Food coloring or washable kids paint"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Measure a Cup of Flour","text":"One cup of plain flour into a mixing bowl. This makes about as much dough as two shop-bought tubs, which is plenty for two children.A wide bowl beats a deep one. You will be mixing with your hands shortly and there needs to be room to move."},{"number":2,"title":"Add Half a Cup of Salt","text":"Ordinary table salt, straight in on top of the flour. Stir the two together while everything is still dry.The salt is doing real work here. It preserves the dough and it gives it that slightly grainy squeeze that plain flour and water does not have."},{"number":3,"title":"Stir In Half a Cup of Water","text":"Pour the water in gradually and stir as you go. It will look wrong for a while - shaggy, dry, not at all like dough - and then it comes together suddenly.Hold back the last splash until you see how the mixture is behaving. Kitchens vary and so does flour."},{"number":4,"title":"Mix Until It Pulls Together","text":"Work the mixture with a spoon and then with your hands until the loose flour is gone and it holds as one lump.There should be no dry powder left in the bottom of the bowl. That is the point at which it is ready to come out."},{"number":5,"title":"Knead It Into a Smooth Ball","text":"Turn it out and knead for a couple of minutes until the surface goes smooth and the dough stops sticking to your palms.Sticky means add flour. Crumbly means wet your hands. You will feel the moment it turns."},{"number":6,"title":"Divide It Into Portions","text":"Split the ball into one portion per colour you want. Four is a sensible number for a single batch.Do this before any colour goes near it. Trying to divide dyed dough just makes more dyed hands."},{"number":7,"title":"Press a Well and Add the Colour","text":"Push your thumb into the middle of each portion to make a deep well, then drop five to ten drops of colour into it.Fold the dough over the well before you start kneading. That traps most of the colour inside instead of on your fingers."},{"number":8,"title":"Knead Until the Colour Runs Through","text":"Keep working each ball until the streaks disappear and the colour is even all the way through. It takes a minute or two per ball.The marbled halfway stage looks good too, so stop early if you like it."},{"number":9,"title":"Wash Your Hands Before the Next Colour","text":"Food colouring transfers straight from your palms into the next ball. Rinse between colours and the set stays bright.Skip it and every colour after the first comes out muddy.The staining on your hands fades within a day. Worktops and clothes are less forgiving, so work on a wipeable surface."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-08-26T14:43:28.682Z","published":"2026-08-26T14:43:22.606Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}