Make a salt dough leaf dish

Salt dough leaf trinket dish displaying silver rings

Make a beautiful trinket dish for yourself or to give as a gift, inspired by the Forest of Secrets. 

Bits and bobs you will need:

  • 125g salt
  • 50g flour plus a little extra for dusting
  • 50ml water
  • Rolling pin
  • A leaf (ideally with pronounced veins)
  • A knife
  • A palette knife (optional)
  • Greaseproof paper
  • Paint or pens (optional)

Method:

Gradually add water to the dry ingredients until it makes a dough – you may not need all the water.

On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball.

Add more flour to the surface so that the dough won’t stick and gently roll the dough out until it is larger than your chosen leaf.

Press the leaf into the dough firmly.

Cut around the outside of the leave and remove the excess dough.

With the leaf still in place, transfer the dough to a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Using a palette knife will make this easier.

Take this opportunity to gently raise the edges of your leaf so it is more of a dish shape. You may also like to create small lengths of dough to place under each end as a support.

Leave the dough in a sunny spot to dry for a few hours. Once the dough has started to harden gently peel away the leaf to reveal the marks it’s made in the dish.

You can return the dish to the sunny spot to continue drying out or you may prefer to bake it for 2 hours at 100C. Leave it to fully harden overnight.

If you want to add colour to your dish now is the time to do it using pens or paints. If you have any clear varnish