For sheer sensory pleasure, few art materials can rival fresh bread dough. Many of today's young artists, however, think you can play only with Play-Doh. This kitchen table work shows us otherwise, while honoring, appropriately, a symbol of quiet perseverance.

MATERIALS

Turtle Bread Dough
Raisins
Egg
Water

TOOLS

Baking sheet
Serrated knife
Plastic wrap

After the Turtle Bread Dough has risen once, punch it down and form balls for the shell (about 6 inches in diameter), the head (3 inches) and the legs (2 inches), and assemble on a greased baking sheet, adding a dough tail. Texturize the shell's top by etching a crisscross pattern with the knife. Use 2 raisins for eyes. Let rise again for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

TIPS: For more reptilian realism, add a couple of drops of green food coloring to the egg wash.

REVIEWERS' COMMENTS: "The dough feels like rubber. It's mushy." "I want to eat the legs first!"

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