Audited —·Last updated 31 Jul 2026·8 citations·Tier 3·0 uses

Salt Dough Calculator

Scale the 2:1:1 salt dough recipe from flour, salt or dough weight. Cups and grams, MSU Extension's oven guide, and the sodium warning it needs.

Salt Dough Calculator

What do you know?
Measured in
Plain or all-purpose flour. Nothing about salt dough needs bread flour, self-rising flour or anything expensive — the gluten is doing no work here, because the dough is never proved and never eaten. This field is only read in the first mode.
Fine table salt. Coarse and kosher salts pack very differently — Diamond Crystal is 8 g per tablespoon against table salt's 18 g — so a cup of kosher salt is not a cup of table salt and the grams readout will be wrong if you substitute one for the other. This field is only read in the second mode.
The weight of the dough before baking. Baking drives off most of the water, so the finished ornaments weigh appreciably less than this and the page does not predict how much less. This field is only read in the third mode.
g
Michigan State University Extension publishes its 2-3 hour bake for quarter-inch pieces. Roll thicker than that and no source gives a time, so the calculator stops quoting one rather than inventing it. This field is read in every mode.
in
Raw dough
764.1198
Flour plus salt plus water, weighed before baking. This is not the weight of the finished ornaments: baking at 250 F for two to three hours is a drying process, and most of the water leaves. No source publishes a drying loss for salt dough, so this page does not estimate one.
Flour
2 cups
Flour (grams)
240 g
Salt
1 cups
Salt (grams)
288 g
Water
1 cups
Water (ml)
236.5882 ml
Water (grams)
236.1198 g
Sodium in the batch
110.4 g
Salt, baker's percentage
120.00
Hydration
98.38
Oven
Roll to 0.25 in and bake at 250 F (121 C) for 2-3 hours, or until completely dry — the oven, thickness and time Michigan State University Extension publishes for quarter-inch pieces. Cool completely before painting or sealing.
Safety
Salt dough is a craft material, not food. This batch holds about 110.4 g of sodium — roughly 48 times an adult's entire 2,300 mg daily limit (FDA). Pet Poison Helpline records fatalities from dogs eating salt-dough ornaments. If a child or pet swallows any, treat it as an emergency: US Poison Help 1-800-222-1222, ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435, Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661.
The recipe
Mix 2 cups (240 g) plain flour with 1 cup (288 g) table salt, then work in up to 1 cup (236.59 ml / 236.12 g) of water — 764.12 g of raw dough at 120% salt and 98.38% hydration on the flour weight.

Background.

Salt dough is three ingredients and one ratio: two parts flour, one part salt, one part water, measured by volume. Michigan State University Extension publishes it as one cup of flour, half a cup of salt and half a cup of water; N.C. Cooperative Extension publishes the same blend independently. The arithmetic is trivial until you need two and a half times the batch, or until the salt canister runs out at three quarters of a cup and you have to work backwards to find out how much flour that will support. This calculator scales the ratio from whichever of the three quantities you actually know, and converts every figure into both cups and grams.

It does one thing that a general recipe scaler cannot. Converting a cup of an ingredient into grams requires that ingredient's density, and a cup of table salt is 288 grams while a cup of flour is 120 — more than twice as heavy for the same volume. Our cooking converter refuses volume-to-weight conversions by design, for exactly that reason. Here the three ingredients are known in advance, so the densities can be applied: King Arthur's ingredient chart for the flour and the salt, and the NIST definition of the US cup with the USGS figure for water density at kitchen temperature for the water.

One number on this page is not a baking figure at all. A single cup of table salt carries about 110 grams of sodium — forty-eight times an adult's entire recommended daily limit, using the FDA's own equivalence of one teaspoon of table salt to 2,300 milligrams of sodium. Salt dough is a craft material, not food. Pet Poison Helpline records fatalities in dogs that ate salt-dough ornaments, and ASPCA warns that a baked ornament reads to a dog as a large salty biscuit. That is why the result panel carries the batch's sodium load and three emergency numbers rather than tucking a warning into an FAQ: the hazard scales with the recipe, so it belongs beside the recipe.

Two things this page deliberately does not tell you. It does not predict how many ornaments a batch makes, because that is a volume question and it needs a density for the mixed dough — not the sum of the ingredient densities, since the salt dissolves into the water and the flour packs into the voids. No source consulted publishes one, and a guessed physical constant is worse than an absent one. And above a quarter-inch thickness it stops quoting a baking time, because that is the only thickness the published two-to-three-hour figure covers. What it does instead is quote the oven temperature, which does not depend on thickness in the source, and Michigan State's own instruction to bake until completely dry.

What is salt dough calculator?

Salt dough is a modelling and casting material made from plain flour, table salt and water, hardened by drying in a low oven rather than by firing. The salt is what distinguishes it from ordinary dough and from children's play dough: at half the flour's volume it is present in a quantity no bread would tolerate, and it is what leaves a hard, chalky, paintable body behind once the water has been driven off. It is used for Christmas ornaments, handprint and pawprint keepsakes, relief maps in classrooms, beads and small sculpture.

The conventional ratio is 2 : 1 : 1 by volume — flour, salt, water. Because it is volumetric it survives being stated in cups, in mugs or in yoghurt pots, which is a large part of why it has persisted as a folk recipe: it does not need a scale. This calculator preserves that and adds the weights on top, for anyone who would rather weigh than measure or who is scaling to an awkward number.

What salt dough is not is food. At 120% of the flour weight the salt load is about sixty times what a bread dough's 2% carries, and 'not for eating' is a statement about acute toxicity, not about taste.

How to use this calculator.

  1. Choose your starting point. Use 'the flour I want to use' for a normal batch, 'the salt I have left' when salt is the limiting ingredient, or 'the dough weight I need' when a project specifies grams.
  2. Pick cups or grams. Cups is the native unit of the recipe; grams are converted at 120 g per cup of all-purpose flour and 288 g per cup of table salt before the ratio is applied.
  3. Enter the amount. The other two amount fields are ignored, so a leftover value in one of them will not affect or block your answer.
  4. Set your rolled thickness if it is not the usual quarter inch. This only changes the oven guidance, never the quantities.
  5. Read the three ingredient rows. Mix the flour and salt dry first, then add the water gradually — the water figure is an upper bound, and you stop when the dough is firm and no longer sticky.
  6. Read the safety line before you bake. It carries the batch's sodium in grams and the three numbers to call if a child or a pet swallows any.

The formula.

flour : salt : water = 2 : 1 : 1 by volume ; scale = known ÷ its own ratio part
scale · the multiplier applied to all three partsflour · cups × 120 g (King Arthur chart)salt · cups × 18 g/tbsp × 16 tbsp = 288 g (King Arthur, NIST)water · cups × 236.5882365 ml (NIST) × 0.99802 g/ml (USGS, 70 °F)sodium · salt cups × 48 tsp × 2.3 g (FDA)raw dough · flour g + salt g + water g, before any drying loss

The ratio is fixed and the whole calculation is one multiplier. Whichever quantity you enter is divided by its own part of the ratio to get a scale factor — flour by 2, salt by 1, or the target dough weight by the weight of one base batch — and then all three parts are multiplied by that factor. Entering 2 cups of flour gives a scale of 1, so flourCups is 2, saltCups is 1 and waterCups is 1.

The weights come next, each from a named source. flourG is flourCups times King Arthur's 120 grams per cup, giving 240 g. saltG is saltCups times 288 g, which is King Arthur's 18 grams per tablespoon multiplied by the exactly 16 tablespoons NIST SP 811 puts in a cup; for one cup that is 288 g. waterMl is waterCups times the NIST cup of 236.5882365 millilitres, an exact figure needing no density at all. waterG converts that volume to mass at the USGS density of water at 70 F, 0.99802 g per cubic centimetre, giving 236.12 g. Adding the three gives doughWeightG of 764.12 g.

Nothing is rounded on the way. Every quantity is carried at full decimal precision and rounded once, at the point of display, to ten decimal places. That matters most in the dough-weight mode, where the ingredient weights are derived from a scale factor that is itself a division: rounding early would leave the three parts failing to sum back to the weight you asked for.

Two derived percentages express the same dough in baker's terms. saltPercentOfFlour is 100 times saltG over flourG, which is 120% and never changes, because the ratio does not. hydrationPercent is 100 times waterG over flourG, 98.38%. Both are constants of the recipe rather than results, and they are on the page so its numbers reconcile with the baker's percentage calculator.

sodiumG comes from a different kind of source. The FDA states that an adult's 2,300 milligram daily sodium limit is about one teaspoon of table salt, and NIST puts exactly 48 teaspoons in a cup, so a cup of salt carries about 48 times 2.3 grams, or 110.4 g of sodium. Dividing that back by the 2.3 gram limit gives 48 — the multiple printed in the safety line. As a check, the stoichiometric route gives a slightly different answer: sodium is 39.34% of sodium chloride by mass, so 288 g of pure salt holds 113.3 g of sodium. The two agree to 2.6%, well inside the FDA's own word 'about', and the page ships the FDA figure because a reader can verify it against one published sentence.

The only classification on the page is the oven guidance, and it turns on the rolled thickness alone. At or below a quarter inch it quotes Michigan State University Extension's published oven, thickness and 2-3 hour time together. Above a quarter inch it quotes the temperature and their 'until completely dry' instruction and states that no sourced time applies, because none does. The comparison is made on the thickness you entered, not on the rounded version of it — which is why the thicker branch does not repeat your figure back to you, since 0.250000001 inches displays as 0.25 and would read as a contradiction.

A worked example.

Example

A parent is making handprint ornaments and wants to use two cups of flour, rolled to the usual quarter inch. Working from the flour, the scale factor is 2 divided by the ratio's 2, so it is exactly 1 and this is one base batch. flourCups is 2 and flourG is 2 x 120 = 240 g. saltCups is 1 and saltG is 288 g, from 18 grams a tablespoon and sixteen tablespoons to the cup. waterCups is 1, so waterMl is the NIST cup exactly, 236.5882365 ml, and waterG is that volume at 0.99802 g per millilitre, 236.12 g. The three weights add to a doughWeightG of 764.12 g of raw dough. Those figures are not a derivation from a general rule — they are Michigan State University Extension's published recipe, one cup of flour to half a cup of salt to half a cup of water, doubled. N.C. Cooperative Extension prints the same blend, which is why the ratio is treated as settled rather than as one publisher's preference. The two baker's-percentage rows show what kind of dough this is. saltPercentOfFlour is 100 x 288 / 240 = 120%, and hydrationPercent is 100 x 236.12 / 240 = 98.38%. A bread dough runs about 2% salt and 60 to 75% hydration, so this carries roughly sixty times the salt and behaves like a very wet dough that has been stiffened by everything dissolved in it. It is also why the baker's percentage calculator, whose salt field stops at 100%, cannot generate this recipe even though it can describe it. The last figure is the one that changes how the rest should be read. sodiumG is 1 cup x 48 teaspoons x 2.3 grams = 110.4 g of sodium in this single batch, which is 48 times an adult's entire daily limit. That is what the safety line reports, along with the emergency numbers, and it is why the dough gets baked and hung out of reach rather than left on a counter overnight. Because thicknessIn is 0.25 and the threshold is 0.25 inclusive, bakeGuidance takes its published branch and quotes the full Michigan State figure: 250 F for two to three hours, or until completely dry.

salt Amount1
dough Weight764.12
flour Amount2
thickness In0.25
amount Unitcups
solve ForfromFlour

Frequently asked questions.

What is the correct salt dough ratio?
Two parts flour to one part salt to one part water, measured by volume. Michigan State University Extension publishes it as 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup water, and N.C. Cooperative Extension's craft packet publishes the same blend independently. Because the ratio is volumetric it does not matter whether your 'part' is a cup, a mug or a yoghurt pot, as long as you use the same vessel for all three. Recipes with more flour or less salt exist and will still make a dough, but they dry slower and finish softer, and this calculator scales the published blend rather than averaging several.
How much salt do I need for 3 cups of flour?
One and a half cups, which is 432 grams of table salt, with the same one and a half cups of water. That batch weighs 1,146.18 grams raw and carries 165.6 grams of sodium. Set the mode to 'the flour I want to use' and enter 3 to see every figure. If you are short of salt, switch to the salt mode instead and enter what you actually have — the calculator will tell you how much flour that will support, which is usually the more useful direction once a canister is running out.
Is salt dough dangerous to eat?
Yes, and seriously so. This is not a taste warning. A single cup of table salt holds about 110 grams of sodium, forty-eight times an adult's entire recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams, and children and pets are far smaller. Pet Poison Helpline lists handmade salt-dough ornaments among the common causes of salt toxicity in animals and records that ingestion has resulted in fatalities; ASPCA notes that a baked ornament is easily mistaken by a dog for a large salty treat. If a child or a pet swallows any, treat it as an emergency: US Poison Help 1-800-222-1222, ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435, or Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661. Do not try to induce vomiting with salt water, which Pet Poison Helpline warns against explicitly.
What temperature and how long do I bake salt dough?
Michigan State University Extension publishes 250 degrees Fahrenheit, about 121 Celsius, for two to three hours or until completely dry, with the dough rolled to a quarter inch. Those four figures travel together, which is why this calculator stops quoting the time once you set a thicker roll: nothing in the sources gives a time for a half-inch piece, and inventing one would be a guess dressed as a fact. Above a quarter inch you get the oven temperature, which is thickness-independent in the source, and the instruction to bake until completely dry. Cool fully before painting, and seal with a clear acrylic varnish if you want the ornaments to survive humidity.
How many ornaments will one batch make?
This calculator does not say, and the omission is deliberate. Ornament count is a volume question: it depends on your cutter's area and your rolled thickness, and to get from a recipe to a volume you need the density of the mixed dough. That is not the sum of the ingredient densities, because the salt dissolves into the water and the flour packs into the voids between everything else. No source consulted publishes a measured density for salt dough, so any number here would be invented. The batch is sized by flour, by salt or by weight instead. If you want an empirical answer, weigh one finished ornament and divide the raw dough weight by it, allowing for the water lost in baking.
Why does the water weigh 236 grams when King Arthur's chart says 227?
Because 227 grams is 8 avoirdupois ounces, and a cup of water is 8 fluid ounces, which is a different quantity. NIST SP 811 defines the US cup as exactly 236.5882365 millilitres, and the USGS gives water at 70 Fahrenheit a density of 0.99802 grams per cubic centimetre, so a cup of water physically weighs 236.12 grams. The gap is four percent. This page uses the physical value because waterG is a number you put on a scale, and states the difference here rather than leaving you to wonder why two of our own pages disagree. For salt dough it changes nothing you would notice, since the water goes in gradually and by feel in any case.
Can I use kosher or coarse salt?
By volume, yes, and the cup figures still hold. By weight, no: the grams readout assumes fine table salt at 18 grams per tablespoon. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is 8 grams per tablespoon and Morton's is 16, so a cup of Diamond Crystal weighs 128 grams against table salt's 288 — less than half. If you are working in grams, use table salt or convert your own. Coarse salt also leaves a visibly grainy surface once baked, which is fine for a rustic ornament and poor for a smooth painted one.
Does the finished ornament weigh what this page says?
No. The raw dough weight is flour plus salt plus water before baking, and baking salt dough is a drying process — most of the water leaves over those two to three hours. The finished pieces weigh appreciably less. This page does not estimate how much less, because no source consulted publishes a drying loss for salt dough and the answer would depend on thickness, oven and how long you left them in. What the raw weight is good for is sizing a batch to a project, buying ingredients and checking that the three quantities you measured actually add up.

References& sources.

  1. [1]Michigan State University Extension (Carrie Shrier). "The joy of homemade gifts: Salt-dough ornaments", article dated 11 December 2025; retrieved 30 July 2026. The primary source for the ratio this calculator scales and for every oven figure on the page: "1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup water"; "Preheat oven to 250 degree Fahrenheit"; "Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness"; "Bake for 2-3 hours or until completely dry"; and the finishing note, "For durability, seal with clear acrylic varnish to protect against moisture." Independence: primary. Access: open.
  2. [2]N.C. Cooperative Extension, Edgecombe County. "Crafts" activity packet, 2020; retrieved 30 July 2026. The independent confirmation of the blend: the same 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup water, and the same 250 F oven, published by a different land-grant extension service and credited to Design Mom. Independence: secondary-check. Access: open, though the PDF's text layer did not extract on direct fetch and the figures were read from the indexed record.
  3. [3]King Arthur Baking Company. Ingredient Weight Chart, current revision; retrieved 30 July 2026. Source of the two solid-ingredient densities: "All-Purpose Flour 1 cup 4 1/4 oz 120 g" and "Salt (table) 1 tablespoon 2/3 oz 18 g", hence 288 g per cup. Also the kosher-salt figures this page cites as a warning against substitution — Diamond Crystal 8 g per tablespoon, Morton's 16 g — and the 227 g water cup that this page deliberately does not use. Independence: primary. Access: open.
  4. [4]National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST Special Publication 811, 2008 edition — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI). Table B.6 US customary capacity factors: cup = 236.5882365 mL, tablespoon = 14.78676478125 mL, teaspoon = 4.92892159375 mL, and therefore the exact identities of 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons to the cup that convert King Arthur's per-tablespoon salt figure and the FDA's per-teaspoon sodium figure to a per-cup basis without rounding. Independence: primary. Access: open.
  5. [5]U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School. "Water Density", page last updated 5 June 2018; retrieved 30 July 2026. Source of the water density used for the weight readout: 0.99802 g/cm3 at 70 F (21 C), alongside 1.00000 g/cm3 at 4 C and the page's own caution that "the exact density of water is not really 1 g/ml, but rather a bit less (very, very little less), at 0.9998395 g/ml at 4.0 degrees Celsius." Independence: primary. Access: open.
  6. [6]U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Sodium in Your Diet", current revision; retrieved 30 July 2026. The single sentence behind both sodium figures on this page: adults should limit sodium to "less than 2,300 mg per day - that's equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt". The batch's sodium load is 2.3 g per teaspoon times 48 teaspoons per cup of salt, and the multiple printed in the safety line is that total divided by the same 2,300 mg limit. Independence: primary. Access: open.
  7. [7]Pet Poison Helpline. "Salt" and "Play Dough (Homemade)" poison monographs, current revision; retrieved 30 July 2026. Salt-dough exposure is listed explicitly among the routes to salt toxicity — "consuming handmade salt-dough ornaments or homemade salt-play dough" — with signs of "gastrointestinal distress (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea), neurological signs (e.g., stumbling gait, disoriented behavior, tremor, seizure, collapse), and death", the statement that ingestion "has resulted in fatalities", the warning that salt and salt water must never be used to induce vomiting, and the helpline number (855) 764-7661. No numeric toxic dose is published by this source, and none is stated on this page. Independence: primary. Access: open.
  8. [8]ASPCA. "Crafting with Care: Pet Safety Tips for Holiday Arts and Crafts", current revision; retrieved 30 July 2026. The mechanism behind the warning: "Salt dough is typically made with flour, water, and salt that is then baked until dried. These ornaments can be easily confused for a salty dog treat by your pet", with hypernatremia progressing to seizures or death if untreated, and the Animal Poison Control Center number (888) 426-4435. Independence: primary. Access: open.
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