Playdough Recipe Without Cream Of Tartar - Mommy Baby Play (2024)

How to make amazing playdough without cream of tartar has been on the most hot questions.

Does a recipe for homemade playdough without cream of tartar that actually WORKS even exist?

The short answer is a loud YES!

Using this easy playdough recipe you’ll be able make playdough that looks and feels great using ONLY simple ingredients that you have at home

You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make homemade playdough without adding cream of tartar!

Before I developed this playdough recipe I’ve tried a couple of dozens of other playdough recipes that claim to work without adding this magic powder.

And ALL the results were disappointing to say the list.

Some recipes made a rock hard, crumbly playdough. Others turned into a sticky MESS.

Some, seemed even promising when just made.

But let it sit for an hour and it’ll turn into a liquid nightmare.

I will not lie, I’ve spent quite some time studying some chemistry. In particular, how most commonly used playdough ingredients behave and react with each other.

As a result, I now have a perfect playdough recipe without cream of tartar that everyone can make at home!

For playdough play ideas for the youngest check out:

Playdough Play {Easy Set Up, Hands On Learning}

Why You’ll Love Playdough Without Cream Of Tartar

1. This playdough is ready in less than 5 minutes.
2. It’s super easy to make.
3. It uses only simple ingredients that you already have at home.
4. With this recipe you can make playdough without cream of tartar, without Kool-Aid, without hair conditionair, without gelatin or any other funny ingredients.
5. This homemade playdough is NON TOXIC, meaning that all ingredients used in this recipe we use in cooking.
6. This playdough is taste safe, but it doesn’t promote eating it.
7. It is not tasty, which is a good thing. We don’t want our kids be eating playdough in the first place.
8. You can use playdough multiple times, so it’s reusable.
9. This recipe makes soft, smooth, amazing to touch playdough that keeps its shape!!
10. Playdough play guarantees hours of fun for babies, toddlers and even big kids.
11. Your child will be reaping all 5 important benefits of sensory play.

Ingredients For Homemade Playdough Without Cream Of Tartar

Flour – all purpose flour works great.

Water – tap water

Salt – regular table salt, possible fine ground. You can use coarse salt too but make sure to dissolve it in the amount of water indicated in the recipe, otherwise you’ll end up with grainy playdough.

Oil – any cooking oil or baby oil works. Vegetable oil is the most cheap version while baby oil will give your playdough a nice fragrance. The choice is up to you.

Vinegar – simple white vinegar is the best. I use this all-natural white vinegar 5% acidity. As an alternative you can all use wine vinegar or apple vinegar. You also substitute lemon juice for vinegar if needed.

Baking soda – you can use baking soda or substitute it with the same quantity of baking powder.

Food Coloring (optional) – of course nobody wants plain, colorless playdough. You can add liquid or gel food colors.

How To Make Playdough Without Cream Of Tartar – Step By Step

In a mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients: flour, salt and baking soda.

Add all wet ingredients: water, oil and vinegar. Using a kitchen whisk mix well, until smooth consistency. Ideally you should have a liquid pancake-like batter with as few lumps as possible.

At this stage, if you’d like to make a single color playdough you can add food coloring and mix again.

If you forget to add food color now you can do it even in the next step.

Place a non stick pan over medium heat. Add playdough batter and mix continuously with a spatula. In less than a minute it will start to thicken and form lumps. That’s totally normal.

Continue mixing until it will all come together.

Spread playdough with a spatula pressing it and spreading over the pan. This step is super important as it helps cook the playdough all through so it has the perfect consistency.

Once the playdough is completely cooked but not frying(!) transfer it to the worksurface.

Roll it out with a rolling pin and fold.

Repeat this process a few times. We do this step to help playdough cool as fast as possible and prevent the steam from forming inside the dough.

You can also skip the rolling pin and simply knead it by hand. The dough is quite hot but still manageable even with bare hands.

Once the dough has cooled, divide it into parts and add food coloring if you haven’t done this yet.

It’s recommended to use rubber gloves to avoid skin coloration.

Once playdough has cooled completely color will not stain your or your child hands.

If you’re not planning to use playdough immediately, wrap it in a plastic wrap.

Tips For Success

• Make sure to use a non-stick pan for cooking playdough.
• To wash the pan easily after making playdough simple dill it with warm water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. After than you can simply wipe it clean with a paper towel.
• Let you little one play with playdough on washable surface. Kitchen counter is the best but a large wooden board works great too.
• Keep in mind that the dough is slightly oily so use surfaces, tools and clothes that are appropriate for messy play.

Playdough No Cream Of Tartar: All Your Questions Answered

How to store Homemade Playdough without Cream Of Tartar

It’s best to keep playdough in the fridge. It’ll keep up for up to 10 days.

You can also keep in at room temperature for 3 days. Always wrap it in a plastic wrap or cling film to prevent it from drying out.

What is Cream of Tartar substitute in playdough in this recipe?

In our recipe, to help playdough become of soft but NON stick consistency there are 2 ingredients that help with this: baking soda and vinegar.

However it’s not enough to just substitute baking soda + vinegar for cream of tartar. See ingredients list for substitutes! You also have to cook playdough following this recipe ingredients and instructions.

How to soften playdough?

This recipe already makes a super soft playdough so it’s unlikely that you’ll dry out (if store properly, of course!).

But if needed, you can rub your hands with oil (any kind of oil) and a little water and knead playdough for a few minutes to soften it out.

How to fix sticky playdough?

Again, if you follow the recipe you will get a nice, not sticky playdough. If for some reason you messed with the measurements (it did happen to me twice!) you can fix sticky playdough by adding more flour and cooking it for a minute or 2 on the same non-stick pan on medium heat.

How to make scented playdough?

If you want to make homemade scented playdough you can either use essential oils of your choice. Essential oils are cheaper if you make playdough often. If you make playdough once in a while a packet of say strawberry Kool-Aid is cheaper for one-time use.If you want to make playdough that smells like fall check out our Pumpkin Playdough Recipe. It also includes fall play ideas with pumpkin playdough your little one will love.

More Sensory Play Recipes

• Homemade Moon Sand {Only 2 Ingredients!}
• Homemade Shampoo Slime {Super Easy! To Make}
• How To Make Fake Snow {Winter Sensory Play For Toddlers}
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• Taste Safe Chickpea Foam – super soft & engaging sensory bin for babies & toddlers