Gelling 55% lard soaps

[KentuckySilks]

Hi all! I have recently been using high lard soaps and it’s difficult for me to gel them, do you guys cpop or use the heating pad and cover method? I do a 36% lie concentration which I know is harder to gel, I never had problems yelling until I started with higher lard concentrations.
On one recipe a while back. I kept the soap in the oven at 175 for about 45 minutes and it gelled. But that seems so hot for such a long period of time.

 

[DeeAnna]

So what problems are you having with the soap you're currently making? Is it that you are only comfortable when you see visible signs of gel and your current recipe doesn't do that? Or are there other issues about the soap that concern you?

I mean, my typical recipes are based on about 50% lard. I generally don't see obvious signs of gel when the soap is saponifying, but the mold is toasty warm to the touch. Also the cut bars are firm, translucent, have good depth of color -- everything that I expect of soap that has gotten warm enough to be at or near its gel temperature. I decided it's less about me having to verify the soap is in the gel stage and more about the soap getting warm enough to have the benefits without necessarily showing a visual difference.

But maybe that's not what you're concerned about, so I'm curious to know more about your observations of your soap.