Recipe was 60% olive, 20% coconut, 20% shea, 5% superfat, water at 38% of oils. Cut cleanly at 24 hours. Five weeks on the rack in a dry room and they still dent easily under a thumbnail and feel slightly waxy. They lather fine but I expected them to be hard by now. Is this a recipe problem or do I just need more patience?
Weigh one bar now and weigh it again in two weeks. When the weight stops dropping, the cure is done. It's the only real measurement in this whole process and it removes the guesswork entirely.
This is such an obvious idea and I've never seen it suggested before. Started a log.
The waxy feel points at the shea. 20% is on the high side — shea and other soft butters give a lovely bar but they contribute to a softer, waxier feel and slow the cure. I'd drop it to 10-12% and see if you prefer it.
Agreed on the percentage. Above about 15% shea also cuts lather noticeably, which people blame on the coconut level instead.
How are they stacked on the rack? Bars need air on all sides and space between them. If they're touching or lying flat on a solid shelf the underside stays damp and the whole thing cures unevenly. Stand them on edge with a couple of centimetres between.
One thing your recipe is doing right — 5% superfat with that oil blend is sensible. Don't be tempted to raise it to fix the softness, it'll go the other way.
@levain_lorna · 9mo ago · 3 replies
Mostly patience, partly water. 60% olive makes a bar that is genuinely slow to harden — high-olive soaps famously want three months rather than four to six weeks, and a castile at 100% olive can want six months. At five weeks you're not at the finish line.
The water is the other half. 38% of oils is a generous amount, so there's a lot to evaporate. Next time try 33% or use a lye concentration approach at 33% and you'll get a firmer bar noticeably sooner.
Things that would speed it up as a recipe change: swap 10% of the olive for a hard butter or add 5% sodium lactate to the cooled lye solution. Sodium lactate in particular is the cheapest, most effective hardening addition there is.
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@browns_and_greens · 9mo ago
Gave them another six weeks and they're noticeably harder. Ordering sodium lactate for the next batch.
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@levain_lorna · 9mo ago
1 teaspoon per 500g of oils is the usual dose, added to the lye water once it's cooled below about 55C. Don't overdo it or the bars get brittle and crack when cut.
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