Gum Paste Mix - What Consistency Is Right? Pls Help
Decorating By myfirst1 Updated 10 Sep 2006 , 12:59am by lilie
I bought powdered gum paste for the first time. It says to add 1 TB hot water to one bag of mix (aprox. 2 cups). I am getting a very crumby mix, does not really even stick together. I am supposed to cover and let sit over night. But it does not seem to have enough water in it to even hold a shape tomorrow. Am I doing this right???
Please let me know if you have any suggestions. I am thinking the pre-made stuff might be the way to go even though it cost 3 times as much
Thanks Jaime 
Have you tried kneading it together? If you feel you need to add a bit more water, only do it a few drops at a time! When I use the mix, it all held together like the dough for pie crust.
For the first time today I made my own gumpaste. You make royal icing as normal and then add CMC (Tylo powder) until it 'seizes' and then knead in a little white fat. It's really good and I'm very pleased with it - and SO much cheaper than shop bought. I thought I'd share that as it always tickles me that here I am trying a new thing and all the way over in the states someone else is doing the same thing. We're cake sisters!
It sounds like your mix needs a few drops more water.
When you make stuff that you have to leave overnight it should be soft and dough like when you've finished making it and then the next morning it should feel a lot harder as the chemicals have reacted. Then you knead it back to life when you want to use it. It certianly shouldn't be all crumby - more water or a bit of fat I think might help.
Good luck with it
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