Let’s face it…kid’s are all creative and love to play with things that allow their imagination to run wild.  The usual creative outlets include building toys, arts and craft items, crayons, paints, and….of course, play dough!  Chances are if your child is playing with play dough, there is a high probability that it contains a high percentage of wheat flour.  Most young kids, inevitably put things in there mouth (if it’s not the play dough itself, eventually it will probably be their fingers), so you could be inadvertently exposing your child to gluten.

Why take the chance?  As we head into the school year we thought it would be fun to create easy-to-make homemade, gluten-free play dough.  

After experimenting with different flour combinations the play dough we landed on is not an exact replica of Playskool’s Play Dough – but rather a hybrid of their play dough and silly puddy!  The rice flour in the dough makes it spring back slightly and have a lot more bounce than Playskool’s Play Dough – but you still can mold and create whatever you want. 

Gluten-free Play Dough Recipe

• 1 cup of water
• Food coloring
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour (brown or white will work)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Tip:  You can also make scented play dough by adding 1/2 packet of Kool Aid to the ingredients in Step 2 below.

Step 1:  Mix the water and the food coloring together in a large saucepan (non-stick works great for this).
Step 2:  Add the vegetable oil and remaining ingredients.
Step 3:  Place the pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens.
Step 4:  Continue to stir and eventually the dough will pull away from the sides of the pan and form one big ball.
Step 5:  Transfer the dough ball to a plate or a work surface and let cool.  Knead the mixture for a couple of minutes to ensure that there are no lumps.
Step 6:  Create your masterpiece!

Enjoy!

Jessica Hale
Glutenfreeda Foods, Inc.