Looking for wood soap loaf mold

[MelissaG]

I'm not sure what section of the forum to put this in so if you need to move it, go ahead.

I have two 5lb molds from Nurture Handmade. While I love the company, I don't know why the silicone causes me problems. The bottom of the loaf is always much softer than the top, and from the looks of it, I need to increase the amount I can make at once. I've tried lowering the water amount by several different amounts, sodium lactate, salt, lowering soft oils, and everything else possible to stop this problem. Usually, I get a bit of overheating so the loaf cracks on the top too.

I live in Louisiana so humidity is just a reality of life and my making area is the furthest area of the house away from the AC and the heater. Given my house is 1540 sq feet, there's only so much I can do, and I can't afford the expense of a dehumidifier.

So I'm wondering if a wooden mold would just be better. But I want to keep the soap the same size as the bars I have now. The molds inside with the silicone are 18 inches long, 3.5" wide and 2.5 inches high. It's been surprisingly difficult finding anything that's 3.5" wide. I'd make my own but I don't have saws and stuff in my house and it seems ridiculous to buy one just for this and nothing else plus it would take alot more physical effort than I'm good with given that I have bronchitis.

Can you suggest somewhere I can buy this from?

 

[akseattle]

@MelissaG , this might be a dumb question, but doesn't Nurture Handmade sell wooden molds to fit all their silicone molds? It seems like that would be the least expensive route since you wouldn't have to buy another silicone mold. Plus, you like the size. If not, maybe you can go to a local lumber store and see if they can recommend someone. I got a referral to build a fence at my house like that. I just went and said "do you have customers who come in and buy lumber for fences?" They gave me a few names.

 

[Relle]

My suggestion would be to take your mould to a wood working group or association and see if they can make them for you, usually they are not expensive and happy to help out. Dh, belongs to a Men's Shed here in Oz and they get people wanting help for different things, there is always someone that will make it.

 

[Firefly24]

I live with humidity also. Have you tried any Sodium Lactate? Waiting longer to unmold? Pulling the sides of the silicone away from the soap a day later and then the day after unmolding it. Get a fan in your soap area, it has helped me out.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Are you looking for a wood mold without a silicone liner, or a wood mold with a silicone liner, as opposed to a standalone silicone mold? For the “standard” width wood molds with silicone liners made by Workshop Heritage the interior is 3.5” wide. This mold makes a 20” loaf.

 

[MelissaG]

@MelissaG , this might be a dumb question, but doesn't Nurture Handmade sell wooden molds to fit all their silicone molds? It seems like that would be the least expensive route since you wouldn't have to buy another silicone mold. Plus, you like the size. If not, maybe you can go to a local lumber store and see if they can recommend someone. I got a referral to build a fence at my house like that. I just went and said "do you have customers who come in and buy lumber for fences?" They gave me a few names.

They do but only the silicone ones have an inside measurement of 18"x3.5"x2.5". But I don't want to use the silicone. I'd like to try just plain wood and see if that works better for me.

Are you looking for a wood mold without a silicone liner, or a wood mold with a silicone liner, as opposed to a standalone silicone mold? For the “standard” width wood molds with silicone liners made by Workshop Heritage the interior is 3.5” wide. This mold makes a 20” loaf.

Without. The bottom of all my soaps solidifies alot slower than the top and I'm starting to think the reason why is the silicone. I've tried everything else.

I live with humidity also. Have you tried any Sodium Lactate? Waiting longer to unmold? Pulling the sides of the silicone away from the soap a day later and then the day after unmolding it. Get a fan in your soap area, it has helped me out.

Yes, It helps a little but not that much. I can wait a couple weeks to unmold before it's ready. Or more. I described everything I've done in my first post.

 

[artemis]

I'd like to try just plain wood and see if that works better for me.

You mean plain wood with a freezer paper liner, right?

 

[akseattle]

They do but only the silicone ones have an inside measurement of 18"x3.5"x2.5". But I don't want to use the silicone. I'd like to try just plain wood and see if that works better for me.

@MelissaG - I see.
Too bad you're having issues with the silicone. It seems so easy. Using silicone, the ends of my loafs are always a little funky. I don't want to think about what my loaf would look like if I had to fold up freezer paper .... Good luck!!!

 

[dibbles]

From my understanding, you currently are using Nurture wood molds with silicone liners. If I were looking at making a potentially costly investment in new molds, I would try a batch in your current wood molds lined with freezer paper to see if the silicone is contributing to the problem. I know this will give you bars that are not the size you want, but you should be able to section off your mold to make a smaller batch. It would be disappointing to order new molds and still have the problems you are currently having, especially since silicone is so much easier (for me anyway - I really suck at lining molds with freezer paper).

 

[MrsZ]

Yes, It helps a little but not that much. I can wait a couple weeks to unmold before it's ready. Or more. I described everything I've done in my first post.

I think I'd die of impatience if I had to wait that long to unmold my soaps!

 

[MelissaG]

You mean plain wood with a freezer paper liner, right?

Yes exactly.

@MelissaG - I see.
Too bad you're having issues with the silicone. It seems so easy. Using silicone, the ends of my loafs are always a little funky. I don't want to think about what my loaf would look like if I had to fold up freezer paper .... Good luck!!!

You'd think but thats part of the problem. The ends always look smooshed on the bottom when trying to remove them from the mold and they're really soft like the way soap dough is.

From my understanding, you currently are using Nurture wood molds with silicone liners. If I were looking at making a potentially costly investment in new molds, I would try a batch in your current wood molds lined with freezer paper to see if the silicone is contributing to the problem. I know this will give you bars that are not the size you want, but you should be able to section off your mold to make a smaller batch. It would be disappointing to order new molds and still have the problems you are currently having, especially since silicone is so much easier (for me anyway - I really suck at lining molds with freezer paper).

I'm actually considering buying a small wood mold. Like a 1 lb mold. And just trying that.

I think I'd die of impatience if I had to wait that long to unmold my soaps!

Yes, it's been driving me crazy.

 

[akseattle]

If I were looking at making a potentially costly investment in new molds, I would try a batch in your current wood molds lined with freezer paper to see if the silicone is contributing to the problem.

@dibbles, good thinking!

 

[MelissaG]

@dibbles, good thinking!

Problem is that my current loaf molds are 5lbs.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I like @dibbles idea. Say more about lining the wooden mold with freezer paper being a problem with the 5 lb mold, I’m not understanding that challenge, besides it being a challenge to line all molds @MelissaG. Sorry this is happening - sounds super frustrating.

 

[dibbles]

Problem is that my current loaf molds are 5lbs.

You would have to cut a piece of cardboard or something sturdy enough to fit tightly in your mold, then line the portion you are going to fill with soap batter. It's not perfect, but for a test it should give you an idea of how well your recipe works in a wood mold without a silicone liner.

 

[Tammyfarms]

What about trying a box mold with a freezer paper liner? It would help you decide if it’s the silicone liner and you can make it any size you want.

 

[DextrousM]

I'm not sure what section of the forum to put this in so if you need to move it, go ahead.

I have two 5lb molds from Nurture Handmade. While I love the company, I don't know why the silicone causes me problems. The bottom of the loaf is always much softer than the top, and from the looks of it, I need to increase the amount I can make at once. I've tried lowering the water amount by several different amounts, sodium lactate, salt, lowering soft oils, and everything else possible to stop this problem. Usually, I get a bit of overheating so the loaf cracks on the top too.

I live in Louisiana so humidity is just a reality of life and my making area is the furthest area of the house away from the AC and the heater. Given my house is 1540 sq feet, there's only so much I can do, and I can't afford the expense of a dehumidifier.

So I'm wondering if a wooden mold would just be better. But I want to keep the soap the same size as the bars I have now. The molds inside with the silicone are 18 inches long, 3.5" wide and 2.5 inches high. It's been surprisingly difficult finding anything that's 3.5" wide. I'd make my own but I don't have saws and stuff in my house and it seems ridiculous to buy one just for this and nothing else plus it would take alot more physical effort than I'm good with given that I have bronchitis.

Can you suggest somewhere I can buy this from?

We would need to see your recipe to troubleshoot. I have used those molds for years with no issue. You may just be using too much soft oils an incorrect lye amount or an incorrect manufacturing process.

What sorts of scales are you using? Are you using a digital jewelry scale to measure your lye? I kitchen scale? Are you measuring in grams? What accuracy does your scale measure in (.1g?, .01g?) ? What accuracy is your recipe in?

I'm also curious why no one is troubleshooting your recipe? Have you run your recipe through an online soap calc? If your recipe is bad or miscalculated, than no mold will save you.

What is your process? From melting oils, adding lye, trace, to insulating the mold?

Humidity is only a problem when curing/drying soaps, not making them and can be fixed by placing your soap in a room with a dehumidifier. I used to make soap in the countryside of Naples Italy... 90% humidity in the summer and I was within a half mile of the Mediterranean coast.

I can make consistently hard bars and in those molds and know that first and foremost it is the recipe that determines this - each oil and butter imparts its own unique blend of fatty acids that are either hard or soft in the final product. I started with a few youtube vids, but they went straight to books from esteemed authors to learn. Anyone can put up a video or a forum post (and I'm not knocking these things), but the book folks of yore used to do massive tests of their recipes in books and have editors and used to put 100s and 100s of man hours into that thing.

So, without knowing your recipe, no one can tell you if your starting point is problematic, which I suspect.

 

[DextrousM]

I'm not sure what section of the forum to put this in so if you need to move it, go ahead.

I have two 5lb molds from Nurture Handmade. While I love the company, I don't know why the silicone causes me problems. The bottom of the loaf is always much softer than the top, and from the looks of it, I need to increase the amount I can make at once. I've tried lowering the water amount by several different amounts, sodium lactate, salt, lowering soft oils, and everything else possible to stop this problem. Usually, I get a bit of overheating so the loaf cracks on the top too.

I live in Louisiana so humidity is just a reality of life and my making area is the furthest area of the house away from the AC and the heater. Given my house is 1540 sq feet, there's only so much I can do, and I can't afford the expense of a dehumidifier.

So I'm wondering if a wooden mold would just be better. But I want to keep the soap the same size as the bars I have now. The molds inside with the silicone are 18 inches long, 3.5" wide and 2.5 inches high. It's been surprisingly difficult finding anything that's 3.5" wide. I'd make my own but I don't have saws and stuff in my house and it seems ridiculous to buy one just for this and nothing else plus it would take alot more physical effort than I'm good with given that I have bronchitis.

Can you suggest somewhere I can buy this from?

We would need to see your recipe to troubleshoot. I have used those molds for years with no issue. You may just be using too much soft oils on incorrect lye amounts?

What sorts of scales are you using? Are you using a jewelry scale to measure your lye?

Are you measuring in grams? What accuracy does your scale measure in (.1g?, .01g?) ? What accuracy is your recipe in?

I'm also curious why no one is troubleshooting your recipe? Have you run your recipe through an online soap calc? If your recipe is bad or miscalced,

yikes...

I just posted a huge reply, but the page timed me out.

I suspect it's your recipe.

We can't troubleshoot your issue without knowing your starting point.

Long story short, every recipe you find should be run through an online calculator to verify.

I have used those exact molds for years with no problems. Hard bars are determined by recipe. Some recipes take an extra day before unmolding. Salt bars only take a few hours before you will not be able to cut them.

Humidity has no bearing on manufactory, only on curing/drying. I used to make in 90% ocean air. Cure in a room with a dehumidifier.