Baking Dough Dollies

Set of Two I made!

I spent another crafty afternoon with 8 ladies at church mixing and rolling dough into cute fancy dolls! The finished Dough Dollies will be baked on the upper rack for 4 hours at 250F to be dried thoroughly (start checking after 3 hours). Finish with a generous layer of regular or craft varnish. This project is most suitable for adults though probably a child over 12 would be able to focus long enough to do it.  Smaller children might like to make farm animals or something with fewer methodical steps.

 The instructor showed us her first dolly that she made for her infant daughter now 21 years old! I tried to write out the measurements; the quantities were very precise for a boy and girl pair without too much leftover.

Dough and white paint

Measurements for the White Dough

Part = 1/4 cup
2 parts flour, no rising
1 part flour salt.
Note: This is a very fine grain salt and is a highly specialized item that is ordered in bulk from limited suppliers.

Using the 1/4 cup as a total portion of liquid
Make 2/3 of it water
1/3 of it White tempra paint.
Mix these together in a small cup before combining with the flour and salt. Knead it together, adding flour and 10mL water as needed to achieve the right consistency: smooth without sticking to your hands, and not cracking.

After making White dough, you can use the same measurements and cups to make blue, peach, pink or green dough. Add a squirt of coloured poster paints to the White tempra mixture and stir well with a paintbrush.

If you had made the coloured dough first, you'll have to wash your hands and all the bowls and mats to avoid contaminating white!

The flour salt is a specialty baking item that has to be ordered in bulk quanties from a special store in Toronto, like 50 pounds for $200 or so. You can't use the regular table salt because your dolly face will not be flawless and smooth.

You need the White paint in the dough to have a white dough effect.  Otherwise without the paint, after baking your project will have the colour of baked bread which is not what you want.

The measurements should be generally precise by pressing the dough firmly into a measuring spoon. You could be off by mL but the quantities are pretty tight. You don't want to run out!

GIRL

1. Body: 40 mL blue (or 3x 15mL tablespoon), roll to a ball then to a teardrop shape

2. Untwist a paperclip and form it into a long loop for hanging; insert into the neck of the doll. Hint: Add a piece of tin foil so that the hook won't be baked hard into the head of the doll. It gets hard to remove!

3. Shoes: Roll a 5mL of white dough into one shoe. Use the blunt side of a knife to form a T mark that makes the shoe like a sneaker. Lightly brush water to the bottom of blue body and gently press the shoes close together.

4. Head: 25 mL. Gently roll into a round ball, delicately. Too much pressure will affect the "complexion" of the face.  Apply water with a brush to the top of the neck, pick up the ball gently and attack it to the top of the neck in the same plane. See below.

5. Face: Gently place the eyes nearer to the bottom third of the face looking downwards. Eyes could be small black beads or cracked peppers. Cut a drinking straw to make the perfect smile shape to press into the dough.

Make the Boy's body, face, legs and shoes etc concurrently.

BOY: Body - 30mL, Each Leg - 30mL, Each shoe blue - 7.5 mL, make an apron (blue). Each arm - 7.5 mL white, the chef's hat (blue or white) is a hefty 30mL oval slab.

6. Roll out a white piece of dough to make a long rectangle to form the "lacy" part of the dress underlayer. Place it on the waist of the doll to cover the lower part of the body, folding creases outward from the waist.

7. Make the boy's arms (white), apron (blue) etc.

8. Roll out a blue piece of dough to make and cut a long rectangle about 15cm long and 7cm wide or so. Layer this on top of the white dress.

9. Arms: Roll two 5 mL balls into a long tear shape to form the bell sleeves. Brush the sides of the body with water to attach the arms. Bend one arm slightly to let the doll hold a bread or baquette.

10. Use an oval cutter or free hand to create a blue bonnet.

11. Fill a garlic press with a small piece of white dough to make the hair. Brush the top of the head with water and place a the "hair" on the head, making rounded curls or long side ponytail as desired. Make a small tuft to tuck under the boy's chef hat.

11. Cover the girl's hair with the bonnet. Place a blue cap on the bonnet unless you want it to look like a witch hat.

Ready to bake

Hints: I found it easier to make the layer the dress and the apron before attaching the arms. You can precut the small hat band piece for the chef's hat and the thin pieces for the apron bow and necktie while rolling and trimming the other blue pieces. Check the side view of the face for a good hairstyle. I noticed that my doll looks great from the front, but I could've added more hair on the side ponytail.

The bun and baguette pieces were created separately from scrap pieces of dough without white paint. When baked separately with a previous batch of dolls they will turn bread colour.

Next steps:

After baking for half an hour at 250F, add the small hands and the bread or baquette.  Total baking time: low temperature 250 for about 3-4 hours. Start checking it after 3 hours. If the back of the dough is hardened, then it is done. Do not put on the lowest rack because it will burn easily.

Apply the finishing touches - cute lower eyelashes, a little powder blush for the cheeks, flower dots for the dress, apron and sleeves.  Varnished with "EnviroxTex Lite" from  Michaels or most hardware stores.

 Created by Instructor Valerie