My first Loaf

[TeresaT]

NOTHING SPECIAL??? You silly goose, that is seriously gorgeous soap!! So white and creamy looking. Simply magnificent. Please do make sure to keep a bar (or two) for a keepsake. You will be able to look back fondly on "the beginning" and have something to compare your subsequent batches to. I regret not having any of my very first ever soap. However, I do have at least one bar of every one I've made since then.

Another thing, I started out keeping handwritten notes and promptly lost interest in that. Notes are a must!! Someone posted instructions for "Evernote" on this forum. I now keep meticulous notes on every batch with that and am able to go in and update them as time passes. I'm a typer not not a writer. (I've got my original handwritten notes that I need to transcribe into Evernote.) I use screen shots of SoapCalc for my recipe instead of typing it out and I upload photos of the soap, too. It's a useful tool. I'm sure there are other ways of note taking (I know lots of members use binders), but this is great and convenient for me. It is also cloud based so it's always available as long as I've got an Internet connection.

 

[sudsly]

Thank you Teresa I have a notepad I've been keeping notes on. One thing I did with my second loaf was input it into soapcalc and add my notes to that then printed.

 

[KristaY]

That is absolutely gorgeous soap, Sudsly! My first was definitely not great so you should be very proud of yourself. When I make "naked" soap these days I strive for that look. Very well done! :clap:

 

[Summi]

Hey Sudsly, your soap looks great. White and creamy!!

 

[Susie]

Beautiful soap! Perfect in every way! I hope you saved that recipe, as every other soap you make will be compared to that.

What I did during the interminable wait for cure is to run every recipe I found through here or in books through a lye calculator and compared the "qualities" of each to start wrapping my head around what makes each recipe different. If I saw a recipe (or a close recipe) on here more than once, I really looked at those the most. I already trusted these folks and started trying to figure out what makes that recipe better than some other recipe.

Then I tried a non-lard recipe, and I figured out something super important...Soapcalc does not know everything. The "numbers/qualities" of lard, tallow, and palm are similar, but in soap they are worlds apart.

So, while it is important to get comfortable with a lye calculator, it is not the be-all, end-all of expert info on how the soap will turn out. You can always post here to ask our opinion on any recipe you want to try.

 

[Soapsavvy]

Very nice!!!

 

[kumudini]

Congratulations on your first CP soap. Looks pretty.
Also, I own several of those molds. If you didn't line or coat them, the best way to release the soap would be to introduce a knife edge between the mold and the soap and gently pulling the mold away, on all four sides. Trust me, no length of time in the freezer is going to help.
Best way to line them is parchment paper along the length of the mold, really no need to line the short sides. I still have to learn how to line with the freezer paper as it doesn't stay creased in the corners for me. Ends up giving a round bottomed soap.

ETA: oops! My bad! Didn't see you got it out already and posted cut pics. Those bars look awesome. Really makes me want to make a simple batch.

 

[Susie]

I still have to learn how to line with the freezer paper as it doesn't stay creased in the corners for me. Ends up giving a round bottomed soap.

If you crease the paper outside of the mold using the back edge of a butter knife, it should stay creased. (Measure the bottom of the mold, then fold and crease the paper appropriately.) I also have put a drop of water in all 4 corners to help the paper stay in place while pouring. But these are the reasons I use a silicone mold to avoid all the fuss.

 

[kumudini]

Thanks Susie! I got used to using parchment paper, it's fairly easy and cheap. I just have to lay a length of it in the mold and pour carefully so the paper is still centered when I'm done. when I bought the molds, the maker advised to use parchment, I already had 2 big roles of it from Costco so I just used that.
I'm still using the first one.
May be when I graduate to wooden molds, I will start using the freezer paper. I'll be sure to remember your tip and may be also check out a video on the tube.