Some afternoons, the best thing to do isn't waiting in the craft cabinet.
It's hiding in the kitchen.
A few slices of bread land on the table, and little hands begin tearing them into a bowl. At first, it's exactly what it looks like: bread being pulled into smaller and smaller pieces.
Then we pour in the glue.
The pieces stick to fingers, then to each other. The squeezing begins, and slowly the bowl of bread starts becoming something no one would have guessed from where we started.
Clay. Made from bread.
And now there is plenty to do.
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For more doughs made for rolling, shaping, stretching, and squeezing, explore our Play Dough Recipes for Kids collection.
And if turning a few slices of bread into clay has them wondering what else might be hiding in the kitchen, there are plenty more things to mix, squish, stretch, and discover in our Play Recipes for Kids collection.
What You'll Need
This one starts with two things that probably aren't sitting together very often.
- 10–12 slices of bread
- 1 cup white school glue
- Large mixing bowl
- Food coloring, optional
Cut the crusts from the bread before setting it on the table, then let the kids take it from there.
How to Make Bread Clay
1. Tear the Bread
They start with a slice and tear it into the bowl, then pick up the pieces and tear them again. Soon the bowl is filled with little pieces of bread, and fingers are still searching for the bigger ones.
Keep going until the bread is torn into small, soft pieces.
Then bring over the glue.
2. Add the Glue
Pour 1 cup of white school glue over the torn bread.
The bread sticks to their fingers as they squeeze everything together, and for a while it looks much more like a sticky mess than anything they could play with.
Keep squeezing.
The little pieces begin holding together, and soon the mixture that filled the bowl can be picked up in one soft lump.
Now it's ready to come out of the bowl.
3. Knead the Clay
Set the mixture on the table and let the kids begin kneading.
They press it beneath their palms, fold it over, and press again. With each turn, the last little pieces of bread disappear and the clay becomes smoother beneath their hands.
Someone gives it a stretch.
It holds together, soft between their fingers.
They've made bread clay.
The Best Part Comes Next
The clay barely makes it onto the table before little fingers begin testing what it can do.
They roll it between their palms, press it flat, pull it apart, and push the pieces back together. Add a few cookie cutters or play dough tools and soon there are shapes scattered across the table beside all the little scraps waiting for another turn.
Or leave the tools tucked away for a minute. Sometimes the first thing kids want to do with something they just made is simply play with it.
Add Some Color
When they're ready, divide the clay into a few smaller pieces and let the kids choose the colors.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each piece and hand the clay back.
The first squeeze leaves bright streaks running through the white. They fold the clay over and knead again, watching those streaks spread farther each time until the color reaches all the way through.
Soon the plain clay that came out of the bowl is sitting on the table in a handful of bright colors.
If the Clay Needs a Little Help
Bread can be a little different from loaf to loaf, so don't worry if the clay needs adjusting once everyone starts kneading.
If it's still sticking heavily to little fingers, tear in a little more bread and work it through. Our batch needed another slice before the clay felt right.
If the clay is crumbling instead of holding together, add a small amount of glue and knead again.
How Long Does Bread Clay Last?
This is one to make and play with on the same day.
When the rolling, squeezing, and shaping are finished, discard the clay rather than saving it for another play day.
More Things to Mix & Make
If there are still little hands looking for something to squish, shape, or stir, there are plenty more ordinary ingredients waiting for their turn.
Homemade Clay
Make a smooth clay kids can shape into little creations of their own.
Cloud Dough
Squeeze it into shapes, crumble it apart, and start all over again.
Clean Mud
Turn another ordinary household ingredient into something completely unexpected beneath little hands.
There are plenty more unexpected things to mix and make in our Play Recipes for Kids collection.
Bread Clay FAQ
Can we use any kind of bread?
We used soft sandwich bread, which tears easily and works smoothly into the clay as kids knead.
Different breads can absorb the glue a little differently, so let the texture tell you whether the batch needs another piece of bread or a little more glue.
Do we have to remove the crusts?
Removing the crusts gives the finished clay a smoother texture and makes the bread easier for little hands to work together.
Save those crusts for something else and let the soft centers become clay.
Can we make bread clay without food coloring?
Absolutely. The clay is ready to play with as soon as it has been mixed and kneaded.
Color is just another invitation if kids want to keep changing what they've made.
Can bread clay air dry?
This recipe is best treated as a play clay rather than an air-dry craft clay.
Roll it, shape it, cut it, squish it, and enjoy it while it's fresh, then discard it when play is finished.
Is bread clay edible?
No. This recipe contains school glue and is not edible or taste-safe.
Keep it for hands that are past the stage of exploring play materials with their mouths.
Not Bread Anymore
By the end, the bowl is empty and little pieces of clay have traveled across the table.
One gets rolled beneath a palm. Another is pressed into a cookie cutter, peeled away, and squished back into the pile when someone decides to make something else.
By now, nobody is thinking about the bread.
Later, a child wanders through the kitchen looking for something to do.
This time, the bread might look a little different.
Save this Bread Clay recipe to Pinterest for the next afternoon when the kids need something to do and the answer might already be hiding in the kitchen.
