Salt dough with the Thermomix® is ready in 3 minutes and yields around 500 g of modelling dough. The ratio of ingredients is the key: 250 g plain flour, 250 g salt and 200 g water, plus 30 g oil to keep it smooth and pliable. Put all the ingredients in the mixing bowl, knead for 3 minutes / kneading mode, then give it a quick knead by hand. Ready to shape.
Salt dough is not a dough you eat; it is a craft dough for modelling, drying and painting. A classic for children, Christmas tree decorations, and hand and foot prints. The Thermomix® takes the hard work out of kneading and blends the flour and salt in exactly the right ratio. If you are looking for more basic recipes, you will find them in our Thermomix® basic recipes collection.
Salt Dough with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 4 ✓
- 250 g plain flour (type 405)
- 200 g water
- 250 g salt
- 30 g sunflower oil
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Knead the dough.
Place all ingredients into the mixing bowl and knead for 3 minutes / kneading mode.
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2
Finish kneading by hand.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly by hand until you have a smooth, pliable dough.
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3
Shape and craft. Now shape and model as you like, then leave the dough to air-dry or bake it in the oven.
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Nutrition per serving
Ratio and drying: how to keep salt dough crack-free
We use 1 part flour to 1 part salt and roughly 0.8 parts water, which gives us the 250 g flour, 250 g salt and 200 g water from the recipe. Some guides work with 2 parts flour to 1 part salt (around 300 g flour). More salt makes the dough firmer and whiter, while more flour makes it more elastic and easier to shape. The 30 g of sunflower oil is not optional: it keeps the dough smooth and reduces cracking during drying. We let the Thermomix® knead for 3 minutes on kneading mode, which gives an even, consistent texture. If the dough is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time.
For drying, we preheat the oven to 50 °C for one hour, then increase the temperature to 120 °C for a further two hours, leaving the oven door slightly ajar so moisture can escape. The slow temperature increase is important. Putting thick figures straight into a hot oven risks cracks and brown patches. Very thick pieces are better left to air-dry for 2 to 3 days before they go into the oven.
Why the Thermomix® kneads salt dough better than your hands
Kneading salt dough by hand is hard work because the salt dries out your hands and the dough stays crumbly at first. The Thermomix® offers three concrete advantages that make a real difference.
- Exact weighing instead of cup guesswork: We weigh 250 g flour, 250 g salt and 200 g water directly in the mixing bowl. Cup measurements from old craft books vary widely because a cup of salt weighs more than a cup of flour. Weighing in grams gets the ratio right every time.
- Even kneading in 3 minutes: On kneading mode, the Thermomix® distributes the salt fully through the flour. When kneading by hand, grains of salt often remain undissolved and show up later as pale spots. 3 minutes is enough for a completely homogeneous dough.
- No sticky hands: The dough comes together entirely inside the mixing bowl. It only comes out onto the floured surface for the final shaping. Especially with children, this saves a lot of mess.
Sticky, crumbly, cracked: the most common salt dough problems
The dough sticks to your fingers
Too much water or a flour with low absorbency is usually the cause. Our solution: Add flour to the mixing bowl a tablespoon at a time and mix for 20 seconds at speed 4 until the dough pulls away from the sides. Add flour in small increments rather than all at once, or the dough will become crumbly.
The dough crumbles and won’t hold together
This means the dough needs more moisture, which often happens with very high-salt mixtures. Our solution: Add lukewarm water a teaspoon at a time and knead briefly on kneading mode. The 30 g of oil in the recipe also helps prevent crumbling, so never leave it out.
Cracks and brown patches during drying
This almost always happens because the starting temperature is too high. Our solution: Start at 50 °C, hold for one hour, then increase to 120 °C. Never go above 150 °C. Let thick pieces air-dry first. This keeps the surface pale and crack-free.
The figure forms bubbles in the oven
Air pockets in the dough expand when heated. Our solution: Before shaping, give the dough a firm knead by hand to make it compact, then pierce thick areas several times with a cocktail stick. This lets the air escape in a controlled way.
Colouring, decorating with natural materials and using salt dough as gift tags
- Colour the dough before kneading: Add a few drops of food colouring to the mixing bowl before kneading. The colour will be evenly distributed throughout and won’t flake off later. For multiple colours, divide the dough after kneading and work the colour in by hand.
- Press in natural materials: Pressing leaves, pine cones or shells into rolled-out dough leaves fine imprints. A lovely autumn and Christmas classic that needs no extra tools.
- As gift tags: Before drying, use a straw to punch a hole for the ribbon and press in names or a date with letter stamps. Once dry, thread the cord through.
- Hand and foot prints: Roll out a piece about 1 cm thick and press a child’s hand firmly into it. Add the year and it becomes a lasting keepsake.
Painting and sealing to keep your salt dough pieces lasting
Always paint only after the piece is completely dry. Watercolours, acrylic paints and felt-tip pens all work well. Acrylic gives the best coverage and dries smudge-proof. The final step is important: sealing. A coat of clear varnish or craft glue such as Mod Podge protects the piece from moisture, because salt draws in water and an unsealed salt dough piece will go soft in a damp environment. Add glitter before drying and it will hold on its own.
What else to make alongside your salt dough project
Salt dough is one of our favourite rainy-day activities for children. If you fancy making something edible with the Thermomix® afterwards, we have plenty of child-friendly ideas. For baking inspiration, take a look at our basic recipes, and if you want to get to know your Thermomix® even better, read our guide to Thermomix® speed settings and modes. That way you will always use kneading mode, stirring mode and the other settings correctly.
How long your finished salt dough pieces will last
Once fully dry, salt dough lasts for years because the salt preserves it and bacteria cannot survive. Painted and sealed pieces stay looking good even longer and can easily last 5 to 10 years as keepsakes. The only enemy is moisture: in a damp cellar or bathroom the dough absorbs water and goes soft. Store pieces somewhere dry, ideally in an airtight box with a sheet of kitchen paper. Wrap undried raw dough airtight in cling film and it will keep in the fridge for about a week.
