Rolling in the Dough (050/365)

"I got sick of the dough, and thought I'd go on the loaf."

Curly Howard (American comedian, vaudevillian and actor, 1903-1952)

TIME: 11:20 AM
PLACE: Kitchen counter
SUBJECT: Homemade playdough

StellaDella wanted to play with playdough today and our store-bought stuff was all dried out.  So we made some.  I really like this dough.  It's much softer than the manufactured brands and you don't have all those "Play-doh crumbs" to deal with. 

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Homemade Playdough Recipe

2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (this is optional but if you have it use it-it makes the dough more elastic)
food coloring

Mix all ingredients except for food coloring in a saucepan.  Stir and cook over low heat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan.  This will take about 10 minutes or so.  The dough will be thick and resemble mashed potatoes.  Poke it with your finger.  If the dough doesn't stick to your finger it's ready.  If it is sticks, then cook it a little more.

Turn out the dough on a plastic mat (I use my trusty Tupperware pie mat) and start kneading when it cools down.  If you want to color your dough, make a divot in the middle and add your food coloring.  I divided up my dough into 4 equal balls - StellaDella wanted 4 colors.  Knead until the color has worked its way through the dough. 

That's it!  Store in a air-tight container.  This dough lasts a long time.  The last batch I made lasted 6+ months!