Salt dough recipe

- 1 cup of salt - 2 cups of flour 3/4 to 1 cup of lukewarm water (the amount of water depends on relative humidity). Mix the salt and flour together in a salad bowl, using a wooden spatula. Then add the water until a large ball has formed. Knead at length on a lightly floured work surface (somewhere smooth and easy to clean). The quality of dough you finish with will depend on the time spent on kneading.

 If the dough is sticky (too much water), add a mix in the right proportions of flour and salt.
You can also use coarser salt : mix it with water to dissolve it.

That way you get a more 'rustic' effect !  We used this method for the string of this 'string of onions'. The coarse salt string is part-baked. The onions (using finer salt) are added to the already-hardened string. Only the onions are painted, with a small amount of paint : white, a little pink and violet mixed in a much greater amount of white). Recipe variations :  Replace 2 tablespoons' measure of flour with buckwheat flour : The mixture is easier to work with (as with pancake recipes too)!  Some people like to add glycerin,(makes modeling easier) or wallpaper paste (stronger models).

Any leftover clay will keep several days in a closed plastic bag.
Salt dough can be colored before baking, either with natural colorings, (instant coffee, curry or chocolate powder) or with gouache...