Oven Rebatch (CP)

[Zany_in_CO]

OVEN REBATCH

Grate soap into a large stainless steel pot and add liquid, if necessary.

Soap made with animal fats Use distilled water.
Soap made with veggie oils Use milk.
FRESH, less than a week-old No added liquid.
OLDER than a week Add liquid.
Add up to 9 oz. liquid maximum for 16-24 oz. grated soap.

Vegetable oils need animal fats to melt down more completely. So use MILK instead of WATER to wet down the grated soap. ANY kind of milk...from skim to goat's milk to wet the soap. ICE COLD from the fridge. It's not necessary to add lots of liquid in order to melt the soap down. The fresher the soap, the less liquid you'll use. The older/drier the soap, the closer you'll get to the maximum 9 oz. liquid per 16 oz. - 24 oz soap. Usually, you’ll only need enough liquid to dampen the gratings. The fresher the soap is, the easier it is to melt because there is sufficient liquid trapped inside the soap to allow it to melt easily.

METHOD
Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C).
Lower oven rack to accommodate a large stainless steel pot.
Add grated soap to large stainless steel pot.
Add liquid, if needed. Toss lightly to wet all gratings.
Cover and cook 1 hour, undisturbed.

At the end of the hour, the soap should be almost completely molten. Give it a stir. You can add any additives now. An ounce of sunflower oil will make it more workable. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or so. Give it another quick stir and mold up.

NOTES: If the soap isn’t completely molten after an hour, continue cooking another 20 minutes. Repeat as necessary until it is. If none or very little soap is melted after an hour, add more liquid, give a quick stir, and cook for another hour. How much liquid to add and how long to cook depends on how old and how dried out the soap is.
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LISA’S CROCKPOT 4-POUND REBATCH

Set crock pot on LOW.
FILL the crock pot with soap gratings loosely packed -- full to the top.
POUR 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups of milk over soap gratings (I like to add 2 tsp. of powdered goat milk in with the milk and a 1/2 ounce light oil.)
DON'T disturb soap for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, mix and put the lid back on for another 15 minutes.
Keep checking and stirring every 15 minutes until you like the consistency.
Add fragrance, color, poppy seeds, etc.
POUR into a 4 pound mold.
PRESS DOWN real good to get all the air pockets out.

I just put mine in the frig for the first time tonight and it was wonderful, only took an hour and I was slicing. This is nothing new, however, I use to ruin every batch because I disturbed the soap before waiting an hour and my soap gratings didn't fill the crock pot. Both are extremely important. All mine come out beautiful now.

 

[Nanette]

AHA!

 

[cmzaha]

I have always rebatched this way because it gives a much smoother remelt

 

[IrishLass]

Why does the thread title say "Oven Rebatch' if you are using a crockpot?


IrishLass

 

[cmzaha]

Why does the thread title say "Oven Rebatch' if you are using a crockpot?


IrishLass

Zany's original post was about oven rebatching at 250º F in the oven which I was referring to in my post above until I reread her post. Not sure how her post became edited. I read her original post when she wrote it but never left a comment, about it being the fact I have always use the oven method.

With the oven method, you get a much better smooth molten melt with using less liquid. If the soap gratings are fresh usually no liquid. With old soap, any liquid can be used to dampen the shreds. Put the shreds in a non-reactive pan, cover set oven temp to 220-250º F cover with let and let melt for about 45 -60 min. I like to periodically check stir and add a little liquid if the melt is not going well my then. There is just really no exact time or liquid amounts you just need to check on it to see it is becoming basically like molten lava.

 

[IrishLass]

Thanks Carolyn. It looks like another one of those weird thread divisions has occurred. I will see if I can find the original thread and join them back together.


IrishLass

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Why does the thread title say "Oven Rebatch' if you are using a crockpot?

Good question, @IrishLass That's what I'd like to know. I posted the Oven Rebatch first... it must have flown away. I just added it. All better now.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Question: it's alright to add milk when rebatching? If it's not going through saponification, won't the milk spoil in the soap in time?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

won't the milk spoil in the soap in time?

Nope.

 

[Dawni]

I also was able to read the original post. The crock pot one was second in this thread. Weird..

Anyways, I'd just like to second the "not touching" tip for the first hour.. But I'd like to say it could take slightly less for new soap, and slightly longer for older soap. You'll know it when you see it - almost like the vaseline stage in HP. It does help.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

@Zany_in_CO, definitely going to try the oven rebatch. Thanks for the post.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Does rebatching affect the longevity of the soap? If anything, I would think it could shorten it a bit, i.e. if the original soap has any fragile oils, which are then heated a second time. Can EDTA or citric acid be added during the rebatching process?

 

[cmzaha]

If I were going to add in one I would use Tetrasodium EDTA dissolved in some liquid then added to the rebatch shreds then proceed with melting. I do not do a lot of rebatching but never found any problems with shortening the life of the soap.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Does rebatching affect the longevity of the soap?

Not in my experience.

Can EDTA or citric acid be added during the rebatching process?

I recently added citric acid to a rebatch of No Slime Castile. It did not incorporate well. It's been a month or two since I did that. I'm using it on a daily basis now and it seems to be just fine, but takes longer to get the creamy lather up, if that makes sense?

Note: When adding citric acid to a normal batch of CP you need a little extra NaOH. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether that affects the final result in a rebatch.

 

[earlene]

Mobjack, I had never thought of adding EDTA to rebatch made with only shredded soap. But then, I don't make rebatch with only old soap anymore. But I have added it when mixing Old & New soap, which is what I call it when I do a rebatch mixed with new soap. Confetti soap is an example of what I call Old & New soap. Anyway, since occassionally I make soap and don't have any EDTA to add to a batch (primarily, this only happens when I travel & forgot to bring some EDTA & ROE with me), I end up with too much soap scum and want to remedy that problem.

I have not noticed rebatching shortening the life of the soap product, but I also have not paid close enough attention to say yeah or nay to your question.

 

[Dawni]

Does rebatching affect the longevity of the soap?

Doesn't seem like it... I've made a lot of rebatch soap when I was newish and I think they last quite a bit as long as my regular soap UNLESS I added too much water. I noticed those become mushy quicker and thus, don't last long.

I do notice that all that heating lessens the scent? Rebatch after cooking compared to the shreds in the container...

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I do notice that all that heating lessens the scent?

Me too. I correct that with the addition of fragrance in an ounce of sunflower oil (mix for one full minute) which helps smooth out the texture.

 

[zanzalawi]

i'm glad i stumbled upon this. i've been rebatching in an old crockpot that heated unevenly and scorched my last batch
so i sent the crockpot to the crockpot graveyard and now i'm going to try this method
thank you @Zany_in_CO

 

[cmzaha]

It works beautifully Zanzalawi. I use an oven for 90% of my rebatching. It will give a much more molten melt. I do necessarily agree with the leave it undisturbed for 1 hr. It will still depend on the freshness of your soap shreds and the size of shreds. Also, not all ovens are exact temps, so I recommend checking on it once in a while.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Not in my experience.


I recently added citric acid to a rebatch of No Slime Castile. It did not incorporate well. It's been a month or two since I did that. I'm using it on a daily basis now and it seems to be just fine, but takes longer to get the creamy lather up, if that makes sense?

Note: When adding citric acid to a normal batch of CP you need a little extra NaOH. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether that affects the final result in a rebatch.

Actually, if saponification is finished, there won’t be any NaOH for the CA to react with, which I think means it would be best to react it in advance, or stick with tetrasodium EDTA. (I’m pretty fuzzy on the CA reaction to get sodium citrate?)