No stick blending

[Saintlysoaper]

Hello all, it's been a while...

Has anyone successfully made a batch is soap without a stick blender and with a relatively short amount of hand stirring, ie to very lightest trace at most?

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I sometimes do! I only do this with my faster recipes, and soap slightly warmer than I otherwise would to help things come together. I don't really get more than emulsification-to-light trace mixing with a wisk. I actually mixed by hand for my most recent batch, as I wanted to pour at a light trace! I wouldn't recommend it unless you've made enough batches to know what to look for (and have a sb on hand in case it doesn't want to come together).

 

[Saintlysoaper]

Do you find it slows saponification too? My hand blended batch is firm enough to de mould, although the corners are soft but is still too high in pH. I am hoping it will eventually turn out okay but I will definately SB the next batch!

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I find it to slow things down, because you're not introducing as much initial agitation. That's why it takes longer to trace, and it just keeps going from there.

And for reference, I made that soap Thursday night, and I still haven't unmolded it. It was way too soft Fri & Sat, so I didn't bother checking it yesterday.

 

[Saintlysoaper]

Ah, now I feel better! I just made this one on Saturday night so I am probably just being over anxious. Thank you.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Yeah, four days is nothing for me. My second batch ever was two weeks old before I unmolded it, and four weeks before I cut it (and even then could have waited another few!). It ended up being a decent soap, though. Nothing stellar, but really good for a second batch!

 

[paillo]

I almost never use a stick blender and often soap at close to full water. For me this requires usually only a few minutes of vigorous whisking to get to light or medium trace. I soap at room temperature. Always coconut milk split with water, beer, puree or other liquid, and always soleseife (unless it's salt bars). Guessing, but I think maybe always using clay thickens up the liquid enough to rarely need the stick blender. Also, totally depends on the FO or EO, as some accelerate and others go nice and slow.

 

[DeeAnna]

Another trick you can use is to add some finely grated older soap to the batter. The finished soap acts as an emulsifier once it is mixed in. I think Susie was the one who uses this idea -- maybe she will pop in and give more details on exactly how she does it.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Has anyone successfully made a batch is soap without a stick blender and with a relatively short amount of hand stirring, ie to very lightest trace at most?

Most of my recipes trace in a few minutes with nothing but whisking and can be demolded in a day. However, some recipes can take way too long to do by hand -- even hours. It doesn't matter how you get to trace, as long as you get there, so it depends really on what's practical for your recipe.

The technical reason to bring soap to trace is that it's unlikely to separate by the time it thickens AT LEAST to the point of light trace. The issue that stands out to me in your question is the description "very lightest trace at most." That doesn't sound like enough. With a soft recipe and a higher water amount, the oils and lye could easily go their separate ways unless you mix well.

I don't have enough information about your batch to say there's actually a problem, but keep that info in mind.