Help--when are my salt dough ornaments done?

[phatchristy]

Hi, we made salt dough gingerbread people yesterday. I used a wheat/rye flour blend (used some older flour I thought had gone rancid a little early).

Well, I baked them at around 200 for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday. They still felt 'gummy' last night. Then again I baked them for a couple more hours and they still feel gummy.

HELP! When are these things done? Should I just take them out and have them sit for a few days. We're supposed to give a few out this weekend (when relatives of course come EARLY!).

Help, suggestions? We're going to be making some plain white flour ones another day snowmen.

[Hey Mama!]

You'll need to let them air dry for a long while even after you bake them.

[luvmybaby333]

Originally Posted by phatchristy

Hi, we made salt dough gingerbread people yesterday. I used a wheat/rye flour blend (used some older flour I thought had gone rancid a little early).

Well, I baked them at around 200 for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday. They still felt 'gummy' last night. Then again I baked them for a couple more hours and they still feel gummy.

HELP! When are these things done? Should I just take them out and have them sit for a few days. We're supposed to give a few out this weekend (when relatives of course come EARLY!).

Help, suggestions? We're going to be making some plain white flour ones another day snowmen.

I don't know. The recipe I used called for a temp of 375. It also said to cook for about 1½ hours or until dry. Mine weren't in there nearly that long before they were brown and hard. I pulled the second batch out sooner (to prevent the browning) and they just weren't stiff. I dunno. I thought the whole process would be easier. LOL.

The biggest problem I had was that some of them (okay, most of them) wanted to bubble out in the middle. The got swollen with little pockets of air or something. It was really evident with the second undercooked batch, because I cold press on the raised area and it would deflate and get all saggy-baggy. *Ugh*

I used regular white dough, though. I'm not sure how using wheat/ rye would affect things. Next time maybe you could try to cook at a higher temp?

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by Hey Mama!

You'll need to let them air dry for a long while even after you bake them.

What does that mean, like a week?

[phatchristy]

Yeah, I had a recipe that said about the same thing--375 for an hour. But, then in the reviews everybody said the same kind of thing...that they browned (they should NOT brown) and that low and slow is better.

They all said to do about 200 degrees for 2 hours. They still felt gummy to me then. The kids really want to decorate them. Then I found another link online, they said 200 for 4-6 hours!

They have these glitter glue pens they want to use on them. Then, I thought I'd buy some sort of protectant (I hear modge podge is good?) and seal them after they are done.

Originally Posted by luvmybaby333

I don't know. The recipe I used called for a temp of 375. It also said to cook for about 1½ hours or until dry. Mine weren't in there nearly that long before they were brown and hard. I pulled the second batch out sooner (to prevent the browning) and they just weren't stiff. I dunno. I thought the whole process would be easier. LOL.

The biggest problem I had was that some of them (okay, most of them) wanted to bubble out in the middle. The got swollen with little pockets of air or something. It was really evident with the second undercooked batch, because I cold press on the raised area and it would deflate and get all saggy-baggy. *Ugh*

I used regular white dough, though. I'm not sure how using wheat/ rye would affect things. Next time maybe you could try to cook at a higher temp?

[Hey Mama!]

Originally Posted by phatchristy

What does that mean, like a week?

a day or two-preferably in a sunny window. If you bake them too long, they end up turning brown and cracking

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by Hey Mama!

a day or two-preferably in a sunny window. If you bake them too long, they end up turning brown and cracking

OK, well, I baked them so low it was essentially like drying them. But I checked themn out, they are a bit drier. I just turned the oven off, I'll have to just let them sit. Strangely they look a little whiter than before. I hope the modge podge makes them browner!

I would love a more golden brown gingerbread ornament LOL. Maybe I'll have to take pictures and share.

[PatchChild]

Ours baked for about 6 hours at 200, and the slightly thicker ones were not quite doen. I flipped them and baked again the next day and that seemed to help.

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by PatchChild

Ours baked for about 6 hours at 200, and the slightly thicker ones were not quite doen. I flipped them and baked again the next day and that seemed to help.

I think most of them are significantly drier now...I just went and opened the oven (I'm letting them cool in there).

The underside (part on making sheet) is the perfect gingerbread color, however the top is more like a light tan! Wow! It's such a difference--the underside looks more like how it looked when we rolled them out. The top side has more of a powdery finish. I may have to come back later and post pictures.

I was told that rye would make a deep brown and whole wheat would make a sandier brown...I used half and half. The underside is perfect!

[LaughingHyena]

I find they take a LONG time in a very low oven. If they are bubbling up it sounds like you have the heat to high. I like to leave them at least a couple of days after baking before painting.

The ones we did last year I put back in the oven after the kids painted them, they used so much paint they felt a bit soggy again

In future I plan to seal them after taking them down off the tree, I figure a couple of weeks hanging up should finish off the drying.

They do need to be sealed though, the ones I didn't do were either not dry enough when put away or got damp in storage. Our Christmas decorations were one lump of mush when we got them out. I will not be storing the salt dough in the same box as the rest again!

[GeekMom84]

My daughter and I just made some today and we did a little over 2 hours at 250 degrees and they came out perfect. Maybe you're making them too thick? I noticed that with one of our thicker ornaments the middle bubbled slightly while the rest didn't.

I let them cool for an hour and they were hard so we painted and are letting them dry overnight and then sealing tomorrow. Good idea to still keep them stored in a separate container and away from the rest of the decorations.