Engblom: "...Could this [not very bubbly lather] be because of the soda formed?..."
I'm not sure I can answer this. I am not seeing obvious soda ash ON this first soap (this is the one in which the emulsion broke and cleaned my oven). Not to say there couldn't be soda ash IN the surface layer of the soap. This soap is more porous, the weeping/draining/evaporating water is carrying lye out of the soap, and the soap is quickly becoming non-zappy. So, yes, it wouldn't surprise me that there's an odd layer of ash or whatever within the surface layer of the soap.
From AnnaMarie's post 159, it seems there is ~something~ on the surface of the bars that's different:
"...When it first got wet it was initially slimy with a thin jelly layer, but that went away quickly and voila- the lovely lather I remember...."
"...I'm wondering if the initial slime was glycerin?..."
Slime sounds like glycerin attracting water to itself, yes. So far I have not felt the slime, just low lather, but my soap is still a baby. I'm thinking Engblom may be right about the soda ash being a factor. I'll keep messing with samples as the soap cures to see if the inside of the soap lathers better than the outside. That would tell me if glycerin or soda ash is a factor.
****
StarDancer: "...DeeAnna, do you think mine would have gone through the same emulsification process as everyone else's if my lye was off? My lye isn't clumpy the way it's supposed to get when liquid gets in, but some of it has been clinging to the neck of the bottle. ..."
I'm not quite sure what's going on with your soap. It's puzzling to me too. I don't know enough about this type of soap to say if your lye was off. My guess is it's probably fine, however. I just wonder if adding color and milk may have changed things enough to alter how the soap cures. Just don't know -- sorry!
I can venture a good guess about the color not morphing from pink to purple. That most likely has to do with the unusually dilute NaOH solution in the finished batter. Although there is a large total amount of lye left in the batter, that lye is not very concentrated.
Here's an analogy: You're in a big football stadium with 1000s of fans. In the bleachers, people are crowded together. Out on the field, the players have lots of room. But there's still 50,000 people in the stadium. Your chances of bumping up against another person is pretty high in the bleacher area and pretty small out on the field. Translate that to a pink color molecule looking for an NaOH molecule so she can morph from pink into purple. The molecule's chances of finding an NaOH partner are much better with concentrated lye.
****
AnnaMarie: "...My soap was concave in the middle with big holes filled with lye water. The only thing I did different this time was to pour thinner bars...."
Could be the pressure of the thicker soap is needed to keep the soap pressed together at the bottom of the mold?
Your pics remind me of a made-from-scratch souffle or angel food cake failure -- again a relatively light foamy material that is rather delicate.
I think we're learning more about soap in general rather than just about this recipe, because I know others have posted pics of "normal" soap with this kind of cracking too. Interesting!!!
****
Okay, here's what I THINK I'm seeing as key factors to this recipe:
A big lye excess (negative superfat) is important. A lye excess of about -20% (Engblom #117, DeeAnna #103) may not work well. A lye excess of about -40% (AnnaMarie #1 and others) does work. You can use SoapCalc to design a recipe like this with negative superfat (DeeAnna#124).
A big water excess is also important. An NaOH solution concentration of about 25% may not work well (Engblom #117). This is roughly 80% total water as a % of total oil. It appears that an NaOH solution concentration of 15% to 20% does work -- this is roughly 100% to 130% total water as a % of total oil (AnnaMarie #1 and others).
If you use the method in the original recipe where all of the water is added to the batter, be aware that finished "trace" will happen very, very quickly. The batter will change from "thick gravy" to a plastic-y and shiny-slick "pudding". If you aren't at a weird plastic-y pudding texture, keep stirring because you aren't at trace yet! (AnnaMarie #88-#95, Seven #104).
3/10/2014 update: The above paragraph is true if you use a stick blender a lot. With mostly or all hand stirring, this plastic-y look at trace may not happen -- your batter may look similar to a normal soap batter at trace. I think the consensus is to use a SB at first, if at all, to get things mixed well, then hand stir with no or very light SB use thereafter.
Handle this soap and any liquid that may drain from the soap with caution. Until proved otherwise, assume the soap contains active lye and may burn skin and eyes. Gloves and goggles recommended!
****
The soap batter emulsion is fragile and will "break" if the molded soap gets too warm. Some of my thoughts and observations:
I'm getting the feeling that the batter needs to be well under 100 deg F (38 C) when poured into the mold. (Seven #112, etc.)
It's my thinking that I don't want this soap to gel, so I would only insulate lightly if at all. But, AnnaMarie, please chime in about this, cuz I do think you gel this soap, so maybe I'm not correct here.
Definitely do not CPOP this recipe. (Newbie #59, DeeAnna #52)
If your mold will leak (like my wood molds do) be sure to set the mold in a non-aluminum pan to catch any drips. Let the batter weep/drain as needed if the emulsion breaks. Resist the urge to CPOP or rebatch!
See also AnnaMarie's soap cracks (#128 ) -- the type of mold may affect the appearance of the soap.
****
I'm not sure I can answer this. I am not seeing obvious soda ash ON this first soap (this is the one in which the emulsion broke and cleaned my oven). Not to say there couldn't be soda ash IN the surface layer of the soap. This soap is more porous, the weeping/draining/evaporating water is carrying lye out of the soap, and the soap is quickly becoming non-zappy. So, yes, it wouldn't surprise me that there's an odd layer of ash or whatever within the surface layer of the soap.
From AnnaMarie's post 159, it seems there is ~something~ on the surface of the bars that's different:
"...When it first got wet it was initially slimy with a thin jelly layer, but that went away quickly and voila- the lovely lather I remember...."
"...I'm wondering if the initial slime was glycerin?..."
Slime sounds like glycerin attracting water to itself, yes. So far I have not felt the slime, just low lather, but my soap is still a baby. I'm thinking Engblom may be right about the soda ash being a factor. I'll keep messing with samples as the soap cures to see if the inside of the soap lathers better than the outside. That would tell me if glycerin or soda ash is a factor.
****
StarDancer: "...DeeAnna, do you think mine would have gone through the same emulsification process as everyone else's if my lye was off? My lye isn't clumpy the way it's supposed to get when liquid gets in, but some of it has been clinging to the neck of the bottle. ..."
I'm not quite sure what's going on with your soap. It's puzzling to me too. I don't know enough about this type of soap to say if your lye was off. My guess is it's probably fine, however. I just wonder if adding color and milk may have changed things enough to alter how the soap cures. Just don't know -- sorry!
I can venture a good guess about the color not morphing from pink to purple. That most likely has to do with the unusually dilute NaOH solution in the finished batter. Although there is a large total amount of lye left in the batter, that lye is not very concentrated.
Here's an analogy: You're in a big football stadium with 1000s of fans. In the bleachers, people are crowded together. Out on the field, the players have lots of room. But there's still 50,000 people in the stadium. Your chances of bumping up against another person is pretty high in the bleacher area and pretty small out on the field. Translate that to a pink color molecule looking for an NaOH molecule so she can morph from pink into purple. The molecule's chances of finding an NaOH partner are much better with concentrated lye.
****
AnnaMarie: "...My soap was concave in the middle with big holes filled with lye water. The only thing I did different this time was to pour thinner bars...."
Could be the pressure of the thicker soap is needed to keep the soap pressed together at the bottom of the mold?
Your pics remind me of a made-from-scratch souffle or angel food cake failure -- again a relatively light foamy material that is rather delicate.
I think we're learning more about soap in general rather than just about this recipe, because I know others have posted pics of "normal" soap with this kind of cracking too. Interesting!!!
****
Okay, here's what I THINK I'm seeing as key factors to this recipe:
A big lye excess (negative superfat) is important. A lye excess of about -20% (Engblom #117, DeeAnna #103) may not work well. A lye excess of about -40% (AnnaMarie #1 and others) does work. You can use SoapCalc to design a recipe like this with negative superfat (DeeAnna#124).
A big water excess is also important. An NaOH solution concentration of about 25% may not work well (Engblom #117). This is roughly 80% total water as a % of total oil. It appears that an NaOH solution concentration of 15% to 20% does work -- this is roughly 100% to 130% total water as a % of total oil (AnnaMarie #1 and others).
If you use the method in the original recipe where all of the water is added to the batter, be aware that finished "trace" will happen very, very quickly. The batter will change from "thick gravy" to a plastic-y and shiny-slick "pudding". If you aren't at a weird plastic-y pudding texture, keep stirring because you aren't at trace yet! (AnnaMarie #88-#95, Seven #104).
3/10/2014 update: The above paragraph is true if you use a stick blender a lot. With mostly or all hand stirring, this plastic-y look at trace may not happen -- your batter may look similar to a normal soap batter at trace. I think the consensus is to use a SB at first, if at all, to get things mixed well, then hand stir with no or very light SB use thereafter.
Handle this soap and any liquid that may drain from the soap with caution. Until proved otherwise, assume the soap contains active lye and may burn skin and eyes. Gloves and goggles recommended!
****
The soap batter emulsion is fragile and will "break" if the molded soap gets too warm. Some of my thoughts and observations:
I'm getting the feeling that the batter needs to be well under 100 deg F (38 C) when poured into the mold. (Seven #112, etc.)
It's my thinking that I don't want this soap to gel, so I would only insulate lightly if at all. But, AnnaMarie, please chime in about this, cuz I do think you gel this soap, so maybe I'm not correct here.
Definitely do not CPOP this recipe. (Newbie #59, DeeAnna #52)
If your mold will leak (like my wood molds do) be sure to set the mold in a non-aluminum pan to catch any drips. Let the batter weep/drain as needed if the emulsion breaks. Resist the urge to CPOP or rebatch!
See also AnnaMarie's soap cracks (#128 ) -- the type of mold may affect the appearance of the soap.
****
