Title: Baker's craft dough
 Categories: Crafts
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
      4 c  Unsifted flour
      1 c  Salt
  1 1/2 c  Water
      1 tb Powdered Alum
           (preservative)
      1 tb Cooking oil (easier to
           Work)
    1/4 ts Food color
    1/4 ts Clove or peppermint oil
           Acrylic paints
           Spray acrylic fixative
           Clear shellac
 
  Mix together flour, salt, and alum. With a big wooden spoon, slowly
  stir in the water, oil, coloring, and scent. Keep mixing until the
  dough follows the spoon around the bowl and then knead with your
  hands until smooth. The initial kneading will only take a minute or
  two to get the dough going and to make it pliable. After that you
  will knead as you work into smaller pieces and the dough will stay
  soft.
  
  Store dough in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will remain in
  good condition for up to 4 weeks. Let it warm to room temperature
  before using.
  
  To Use: Generously flour the work surface and pinch off just enough
  dough to mold with. Leave the rest in a plastic bag until needed.
  Fill a small bowl with water to use as glue when you want to stick
  pieces together. When you have made an item you want to keep, place
  it on a floured cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 250 degrees fo
  at least an hour. Baking time varies considerably depending on the
  thickness of the object. It's a good idea to check for doneness by
  inserting a toothpick into the thickest part of the item. If you
  think your ornaments aore getting too brown, cover them with aluminum
  foil, turn down the oven, and compensate by cooking a bit longer.
  After the item is completely dry, you can paint ti with acrylic
  paints and then either paint it with shellac or spray it with several
  coats of acrylic fixative.
  
  Ideas: This dough is used quite successfully for creating
  homey-looking Christmas ornaments.  When my kids were little, I
  helped them make their own creations each year for the tree and now I
  treasure these ornaments. Try helping children create their own
  handprints by outstretching their hands shile you carefully cut
  around their fingers with a dull paring knife. Or they can press
  their handprints into a plaque-size circle of dough.  All sorts of
  kitchen implements can be used to gi e interesting textures to the
  dough. By far the most interesting effects can be created by forcing
  the dough through a garlic press. The resulting threads can be used
  for a bird's nest, hair, animal fur, and of course, spaghetti. Just
  remember to "glue" the strands together with water as you go. Add
  teeny little eggs to a nest or roll out some meatballs for a bowl of
  spaghetti. Another natural creation for Baker's Craft dough is to
  make a bread basket, bagel, or pretend muffins out of it. To make a
  basket, roll out and cut thick strips of dough. Drape several, close
  together, across and inverted, heavily floured loaf pan or baking
  dish. Weave strips in the opposes direction through the original
  ones. Create a lattice work design and finish off the edges as if you
  were creating a fancy pie. Bake your creation, pan and all, in the
  oven and lift the basket off the pan when it is completely cool.
  
  Hints: A rolling pin is extremely useful for flattening the dough,
  but if you have many little hands around the table at once, cans of
  soup or veggies will work just as well.  You can finish the smaller
  items by coating them with clear nail polish. Or try brushing them
  with evaporated milk if you want your creations to look brown and
  golden, like baked goods.
  
  File