Day 18 - Wreath

This abstract wreath is the remnant of a candle I had in my closet for years, a gift someone (my mom I believe) once brought me back from a trip to Ireland. It was made in Oughterard, Co. Galway, the town where, years later, we would clip the rear-view mirror off the side of our rental car on the narrow main street. We burned this candle for three nights running while our power was out, and it was the brightest one in the house. It finally served its purpose. I'm happy to report that the power came back on this morning, and, more miraculous still, our internet came back this afternoon!


While in the dark last night, I worked on ornaments made from a salt dough that hardens when baked. This wreath baked on top of the wood stove. You can paint the dough after its baked, or add food coloring during the mixing process to get different colored doughs. I should note, these are not meant to be eaten.


The recipe I used is from the King Arthur Flour 50th Anniversary Cookbook. You add a half cup of salt to three quarters of a cup boiling water and stir to dissolve (mine didn't really dissolve all the way). Then add 2 cups of flour all at once. The recipe says to knead for 6 to 8 minutes, but what I did instead was answer the phone and talk to my mom for 6 to 8 minutes, then go back and knead the dough for 1 to 2 minutes. By then it had soaked up a lot of the water and become more kneadable. They bake at 225 degrees for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on how thick they are.


I just had the thought that it might be nice to sprinkle some cinnamon on the dough and make fake cinnamon buns, but I have yet to test these in the oven. Even though the dough is not meant for eating, ornaments made with it might look nice sprinkled with some colored sugars, or bits of hard candies. More testing is needed.