Firstly I'd like to give shout out to Iowa Farmerz Wife for her write-up on her blog. It was the only non-crockpot method of hot processed soap making I have found, and it is very easy to follow if you've made soap before.
This is the link to her blog - in particular the process of making soap using an oven.
http://iowafarmerzwife.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/hot-process-soap-making-oven-method.html
So now that I have stated my reference source I'll go through the recipe I used and the process of making hot-processes soap with an oven in a little more detail.
Note: There are two reasons I used this method:
1. because I don't own a crockpot (and most hot processed soap methods use one) and if I have a perfectly good oven then why not use it?
2. It appears that most crockpot recipes require you to stand watch over your soap at all times to prevent overflow. You can just pop this recipe in the oven and forget about it till your alarm goes off.
What you'll need:
*Ingredients - 250g (8.8 Oz) Copha, 400g (14.1 Oz) Olive Oil, 350g (12.3 Oz) Tallow, 380g (13.4 Oz) Distilled or Pure Water and 142g (5 oz) lye.
*Scale
*Thermometer that reaches at least 200°C (392°F)
*A mold of some description (An ice cream tub is great for this)
*Wooden Spoons and metal spoons
*Large microwave and oven proof bowl
*PPE - so safety goggles, an apron and nitrile gloves
* A stick blender
* Dishes to measure ingredients into - preferably clean glass ones
* a well-ventilated room
Take your block of copha and dump it into a large microwave and oven safe bowl. This will be the bowl you use all the way through the soap making process.
Microwave your copha on high for a minute at a time, stirring and breaking it into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon after each heating.
Once it is completely liquid then you can add your olive oil and Tallow to the copha. If you do not have Tallow check out my post on Rendering Beef Fat.
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| Copha, Olive Oil and Tallow Mix |
The next step is to then add the lye to the water - very carefully. DO NOT ADD THE WATER TO THE LYE as you may end up causing a violent reaction and burning yourself. Always add the lye to the water.
The reaction will cause the water/lye mix to bubble and fizz releasing gases so don't stick your head over the top of the mix. It will also heat up to about 80°C (176°F) so be careful as the mixture is quite hot.
Gently stir until the lye has been completely dissolved in the water. (I suggest using a jug to mix your water/lye in, that way it makes it easier to pour later).
At this point it is optional to go onto the next step OR if you have never attempted soap making before wait until the water/lye mix has cooled to around 50°C (122°F).
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| Water/Lye Mix |
Very carefully pour the water/lye into the fats and oils, you will immediately see a creamy precipitate begin to form in the bowl.
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| This is what your mixture should look like when you begin to pour your water/lye into your fats and oils. |
Using your stick mixer on LOW, mix the water/lye and fats together until you reach trace.
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| Carefully mixing everything together. |
Trace is the point where the mixture looks like thick custard and when you pull your stick mix out it will leave behind a pattern on the top of your soap. Your mix should be thick and custard like, but not lumpy or not too thin. If you feel your mix is a bit too thin, or your pattern begins to disappear after a few seconds, continue mixing with the stick mix until it thickens up.
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| Trace |
Once trace has been reached you are ready to put your bowl in the oven.
Note: If your bowl is more than half full I suggest transferring to a bigger bowl as your mix will "rise" in the oven and may overflow. Alternatively as I had no bigger bowls I split my mix into two separate bowls to "cook" them and then mixed them back together again at the end. I have only taken photographs of one bowl though.
Preheat your oven to the LOWEST temperature it can go. On my oven that is 90°C (194°F) and it worked fine.
Place your bowl in the oven and "cook" for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes take it out and stir with a wooden spoon.
(At this point while my soap is "cooking" I like to grease my mold so I don't forget!)
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| After 30 minutes "cooking" in the oven. |
Put your bowl back in the oven and "cook" for another 15 minutes. At this point when you take it out it should have the consistency of applesauce. So it should be thick and a little bit lumpy looking.
If it does not yet look like applesauce it is suggested you place your bowl back in the oven for 15 minutes at a time, stirring every 15 minutes, until it looks like applesauce.
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| Mashed potato consistency - this is when you add extras. |
Once it has the consistency of applesauce, turn off your oven and stir the mix to cool it down. It will slowly turn into the consistency of mashed potatoes.
It is at this point you can add any extras you want to put in your soap, like essential oils, exfoliating substances, and any colouring etc.
I added 40 drops of tea tree oil at this point.
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| Soap in the mold cooling |
Once you have added all you extras and thoroughly stirred them in until they are mixed through, scoop the soap mix into your mold. Flatten the top (as best you can) and then tap it hard on the counter to to settle the contents into the mold. Leave it to cool overnight or until the soap is solid.
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| Finished Soap cut into bars |
When the soap is dry, unmold it and cut into bars.
Note: I didn't wait until the soap was completely cool before I popped it out of its mold and cut it up. However it had set completely into its shape and the fact that it was still a little warm meant that cutting it into bar shapes was a lot easier.
Happy Soapmaking and please feel free to comment or add anything you think I may have left out!
xx mattimay
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