molds - wooden vs. plastic
Submitted by yetzke on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 11:29
I've been looking for a wooden soap mold and discovered on eBay that there are plastic molds claiming to be for cp soap making. They are described as cutting-board like, food grade plastic with no liner required. A wooden lid is also included. Could the plastic molds cause the soap to over heat? Would it be the same with the decorative, single plastic soap molds? One final question, if going with a wooden mold is it better to use the rectangle trough shape that seems simpler for cutting or the cube shape which requires more cutting but perhaps retains heat better?
Thank you,
Krista
soap molds
I did a little experiment with a silicone loaf pan. I made a batch of soap and my wooden loaf mold wont quite hold it all, so I decided to try a pan I had that had individual mini loaf molds made of silicone. I was quite surprised that they turned out perfect. And removing them was as simple as turning the pan upsidedown and pushing them out. I would love to find a silicone insert for my wooden loaf mold. Currently, I have to line the mold with butcher paper. Lining the loaf mold is the only way I can get my loaf to come out in good shape. It works well, but is a time consuming pain. DO NOT make the mistake of using wax paper! I did that once and only once.
DT
Hi Krista, It depends on how
Hi Krista,
It depends on how thick the plastic is. On a normal summer day, using a 5-gallon plastic pail as a mold will have your soap sort of percolating in there. On the other hand, the Milkyway Soap Molds that we sell work perfectly for soap making. It is a thinner plastic but very sturdy. I don't recommend covering a mold at all unless you're working in a very cold room.
Wooden molds are nice and old fashioned but tend to cause soap to over heat. You need to use low temperatures with your oils and lye solution of about 110 or less. That is less than the melting point of many solid oils. So the oils are setting up and you think you are at trace but you're not. Wood also starts splintering over time when you use it to make soap. So, it isn't the best way to make soap. I have had wooden spoons fall apart on me from using them to stir soap back when I started making soap. (It is also difficult to get the soap out of many wooden molds.)
I think a trough shape would be best because it is easier to get that one cut straight. If you are working with a cube then the soap gets very, very hot because it's so deep, plus you have to make more cuts per bar. You'll be pulling your hair out if you're trying to get nice, even, consistent looking bars of soap.