Sourdough Salt Dough Ornaments

Make these sourdough salt dough ornaments to ring in the holiday season. Made with sourdough starter, salt, flour and water, these could not be any easier!

If you are looking for a fun project to do with your little ones, try making homemade salt dough ornaments. Similar to play dough, this salt dough recipe brings hours of fun creating new designs and decorating the ornaments.

As a child, I remember making cinnamon ornaments with cinnamon, applesauce and glue. I also remember making beautiful salt dough ornaments in art class. They were hung on the Christmas tree or displayed on the fridge all holiday season long. 

Now, I love making memories like these with my little ones. It is a great way to make a time capsule, (especially of the salt dough handprint ornaments)!

These simple ornaments are such an easy activity which make perfect holiday gifts. Better yet, they are an inexpensive homemade gift which can be designed and decorated in many different ways.

Whether you use stamps, cookie cutters, a biscuit cutter, handprints or even play dough tools, the creativity is endless. After these sourdough salt dough ornaments are dried they can be left plain and covered in a clear coat of mod podge or decorated with glitter or paint.

It is easy for all ages of the family to hop in on this arts and craft time. And smiles will be brought for years to come with these homemade ornaments.

Ingredients for Sourdough Salt Dough Ornaments

The ingredients to make sourdough salt dough ornaments are so simple! 

Sourdough Salt Dough Ingredients

• Sourdough starter (1/2 cup) 
  • It does not matter if you use active sourdough or sourdough discard because this recipe does not need to ferment or rise.
• Water (3/4 cup +/-)
• All purpose flour (1-1/2 cups)
• Salt (1/2 cup)
  • Any kind of salt will work including kosher salt, table salt or Himalayan sea salt.

Optional Sealants and Decoration Ideas

• Spray paint or spray glitter
• Essential oils
  • Essential oils can be fun to make the dough have a scent. While this scent will fade with time, you could use an essential oil like cinnamon.
• Paint
  • Though any kind of paint will do. We have painted with water colors, craft paint and non-toxic acrylic paint.
• Pine needles or dried flowers
• Clear glaze spray
• Clear glue
• Mod podge

Kitchen Tools

The kitchen equipment needed for this recipe include a large mixing bowl, rolling pin and parchment lined baking sheet. This dough is not tough and is kneaded by hand. While we love our refurbished Kitchenaid mixer, it is not necessary for this recipe!

Of course stencils, biscuit cutters, cookie cutters, and even play dough cutters are helpful to make shapes and designs if you desire. We also had a sharp knife and spatula on hand to make the craft easier.

How to Make Sourdough Salt Dough Ornaments

The process to make sourdough salt dough ornaments is quite simple. This recipe uses sourdough discard and active sourdough starter interchangeably.

To begin, mix the salt and flour together. Add in the sourdough discard. 

Finally, add in the water. Start with 3/4 cup and increase to 1 cup water, by adding a tablespoon of water at a time. Mix together with a wooden spoon until it is too hard to stir, then knead with your hands.

The water ratio can be adjusted based and will be impacted by how hydrated your sourdough starter is. 

If your starter is thick as opposed to runny, you may need more water. The opposite is true if your starter is hungry or runny. 

If you find the mixture is too sticky, add more flour. If it is too dry, add more water one tablespoon at a time.

Combine the dough by hand, kneading (aka playing with) the dough for as long as you like. Once the dough comes together, use a rolling pin to flatten.

If it sticks to the counter, use extra flour to make a floured work surface. We placed our dough on a silicone baking sheet because it did not stick to surface.

We kept our sourdough salt dough 1/8-1/4 inch thin. Note, it can be difficult to keep the consistency when making this with a child. This may mean some parts of your dough will be thinner than others.

If your dough is sticking to the rolling pin, run it under water or place the salt dough between two pieces of parchment paper when rolling out.

Use cookie cutters, a biscuit cutter, or hands to make shapes in the dough. Or use your hands to make fingers prints (or foot to make a footprint) and create patterns.

You can also gather outside materials to make patters on the dough. Leaves and pine needles leave fun imprints on the dough. 

Remove any excess dough from around the cuttings to keep their shape. Gather the remaining dough together and roll out to use again. 

If the dough look like the surface is showing cracks, wet your finger with warm water and smooth it out. As the dough dries, it may begin to look cracked and simply needs to be wet down. We found the more we played with the dough (I.E. 2 hours later), it needed a bit more water to keep a good consistency. 

If you are planning on hanging the ornaments, poke a hole in the top of the ornament. We used a straw, though you could use a knife to create the hole shape.

Preheat the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the salt dough ornaments on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. You can also use a silicone baking mat to line the cookie sheet.  

Ensure there is space between each sourdough salt dough ornament. Though they will not expand much, nothing is worse than two ornaments sticking together.

Allow the dough to cook for 90 minutes to three hours total. The sourdough salt dough will be hard to the touch.

After cooking for 90 minutes, check on the ornaments every 20 minutes. Baking time may differ as oven temperatures vary per oven and the thickness of the dough. Due to the temperature of the oven these will not burn quickly. 

Allow to cool at room temperature until cold. If decorating, do so now and allow to sit and air dry. 

If hanging the ornament, tie string or a pretty ribbon long enough to hand from a cabinet or tree. Make sure to mark the date on the back with a fine point sharpie if making a keepsake. 

Another fun option is to hot glue items like dried flowers or pine needles to the ornament. Truly, the ideas are endless! 

How to make a salt dough handprint ornament

To make a salt dough handprint ornament, place your hand onto the dough to leave an imprint. For those with toddlers, put a little pressure on each finger and hand to give an indentation within the dough. 

Poke a hole at the top in the center of the dough with a straw. After the salt dough ornament has baked, add a ribbon and mark the name and date of your little one on the back. These are the perfect keepsake gift for grandparents!

How to make salt dough in advance

This salt dough can be made in advance. You can mix the ingredients and place them onto a ziplock bag or air tight container for up to 24 hours before using. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Why did my salt dough ornaments puff up?

If you use self-rising flour, the ornaments may rise on their own. Because the recipe is not fermented, the sourdough starter will not have time to cause the dough to double in size and rise more while baking.

What is the best type of flour for sourdough salt dough ornaments?

We have a bag of bleached, all purpose flour in the back of our kitchen cupboard. We do not use it for baking, but it comes in handy for science experiments or crafts like homemade play dough or salt dough ornaments. It does not matter what type of flour you use, though a whole wheat flour will not have as white of a color due to the wheat germ and wheat bran in the flour.

What is the best type of salt for salt dough ornaments?

Any kind of salt will do. This is an easy recipe with flexible ingredients. You can use table salt, kosher salt, Himalayan sea salt, or whatever salt you have on hand! 

Lately it has been more difficult to find kosher salt, so we used pink Himalayan sea salt. As you can see from the pictures, it did not make the salt dough ornaments turn color. 

Why is my dough cracking?

If you are still working the dough, add more water. If you have rolled it out, it is likely drying out and needs to be smoothed out with wet finger tips. After the salt dough ornaments are baked and cooled it is important to seal them to prevent cracking.

How to preserve salt dough ornaments?

Once the sourdough salt dough ornaments have cooled completely, you can store them. It can be helpful to spray with spray sealer or coat with mod podge, ensuring both sides are covered.

As they are fragile, you can wrap them in bubble wrap, tissue paper or a towel before storing. If you wrap the ornaments in newspaper or a magazine, the ink may leak into the ornament. Consider using tissue paper. Store the handmade ornaments in a dry place.

Salt dough ornaments can last for years if preserved correctly and covered in varnish (sealer or mod podge). If not sealed, the ornaments could crumble within a year or two. 

How to decorate salt dough ornaments?

You can color, paint, add shake glitter, mod podge, make small holes or designs, or stamp salt dough ornaments. Stamp with your families finger prints, a hand or a foot.

It is even fun for the whole family to grab items from outside make designs in the dough prior to baking the ornaments.

We had fun using a non-toxic acrylic craft paint and water colors to paint ours. While we did not preserve every batch of salt dough ornaments, specifically the ones with water color, they brought days of fun.  

Can this recipe be air dried?

Air drying these sourdough salt dough ornaments does not work. Even after sitting out for a few days, certain spots do not dry completely.

To prevent mold I would not recommend letting them air dry, especially if you plan on storing these for years to come. 

What is your favorite shape of salt dough ornament to make? We love making circles with handprints in the middle. It is an easy way to see growth over the years! Let us know in the comments below!