Jerry S
Well-Known Member
I’ve always made rebatched soap using the oven method but decided to go with a crock pot I bought for doing HP…
This first shot is of approx. 4 lbs of shreds and shavings including a botched batch of soap I shredded with a kitchen grater. (You can calculate how many bars of soap this will make by dividing that by the weight of the bars you normally make) eg. 5 oz. bars of soap will make 12 to 13 bars..or a little more because of the water you will add to the shreds. I mixed in enough water (rainwater) just to moisten the shreds, as you would put Italian dressing on a salad, about 1-1/4 cup of water for this batch. Then, I let it set overnight with the top on (about 12 hours) as it absorbed the water. (No Heat).
Next morning, I mixed it up gently and turned the crock-pot on “LOW” setting. My high and medium setting would be to hot.
After about an hour on low I gave it a mix, especially from the bottom where the warmer soap has started to gel more than the top. The shreds looked a little dry so I added a half cup of milk and mixed it up then put the top back on, leaving the crock-pot on low, being patient… the stuff looked a little like Potatoes Au Gratin, made me hungry
I use a log or loaf mold for all my rebatched soaps so I can cut the bars at the thickness I like. My loaf mold is 3.5” x 2.25” x 19.75” = 173 cu. inches and holds approx. 7 pounds of soap. I’ve made a baffle for this mold so I can use it for any amount up to 7 lbs., sliding it forward as required.
After another hour I mixed the soap again making sure that it has completely “gelled” and there are no lumps or chips in the smooth creamy mix. I left the pot on low for a bit longer then added my FO and mixing it well.
Moving quickly, I “poured” the batch in the mold, moving my baffle to except the amount of soap I made.
I used the old saran wrap trick someone taught me on this forum to smooth the top out…works great….”Thanks Forum members for this helpful hint”.. :wink:
The next day….I remove the side of my mold held with screws with a small portable drill.
I’ve removed the soap from the mold then` peeled back the Mylar liner and after the soap dries a little more I’ll use my clunky … loaf slicer to cut the bars
Maybe this was a lot of fiddling around to make a few bars of soap from scraps but it makes great hand soap and after putting in some nice FO it took on a little character. The ingredients of these bars runs the full range of oils and even lard since the shavings are from probably 6 to 8 different soaps. I wonder if I could have added some color to make it look prettier???…
...and I hope the bars don't shrink to much..
Jerry
This first shot is of approx. 4 lbs of shreds and shavings including a botched batch of soap I shredded with a kitchen grater. (You can calculate how many bars of soap this will make by dividing that by the weight of the bars you normally make) eg. 5 oz. bars of soap will make 12 to 13 bars..or a little more because of the water you will add to the shreds. I mixed in enough water (rainwater) just to moisten the shreds, as you would put Italian dressing on a salad, about 1-1/4 cup of water for this batch. Then, I let it set overnight with the top on (about 12 hours) as it absorbed the water. (No Heat).
Next morning, I mixed it up gently and turned the crock-pot on “LOW” setting. My high and medium setting would be to hot.
After about an hour on low I gave it a mix, especially from the bottom where the warmer soap has started to gel more than the top. The shreds looked a little dry so I added a half cup of milk and mixed it up then put the top back on, leaving the crock-pot on low, being patient… the stuff looked a little like Potatoes Au Gratin, made me hungry
I use a log or loaf mold for all my rebatched soaps so I can cut the bars at the thickness I like. My loaf mold is 3.5” x 2.25” x 19.75” = 173 cu. inches and holds approx. 7 pounds of soap. I’ve made a baffle for this mold so I can use it for any amount up to 7 lbs., sliding it forward as required.
After another hour I mixed the soap again making sure that it has completely “gelled” and there are no lumps or chips in the smooth creamy mix. I left the pot on low for a bit longer then added my FO and mixing it well.
Moving quickly, I “poured” the batch in the mold, moving my baffle to except the amount of soap I made.
I used the old saran wrap trick someone taught me on this forum to smooth the top out…works great….”Thanks Forum members for this helpful hint”.. :wink:
The next day….I remove the side of my mold held with screws with a small portable drill.
I’ve removed the soap from the mold then` peeled back the Mylar liner and after the soap dries a little more I’ll use my clunky …
loaf slicer to cut the bars
Maybe this was a lot of fiddling around to make a few bars of soap from scraps but it makes great hand soap and after putting in some nice FO it took on a little character. The ingredients of these bars runs the full range of oils and even lard since the shavings are from probably 6 to 8 different soaps. I wonder if I could have added some color to make it look prettier???…
...and I hope the bars don't shrink to much..Jerry
