Sagging in the middle

by Michelle Morgan
(Victoria, Australia)

I did a 1.5kg batch placed it in a wooden mold and let set for 2 days. The soap had sagged in the middle by about 1/4 inch (5mm). What would cause the soap to contract so much?


Coconut oil 250g
Olive oil 250g
Soybean 500g

5% superfatted

Thanks

Michelle

Answer:

I'm not really sure to be honest but I will throw a couple of guesses out there.

Seperation can cause a cave like center in the soap which would cause a dip. You would have noticed excess liquid leaking out of the mold though.

Overheating can cause a lift in the soap but that usually occurs in the center where the soap gets hottest and not around the sides where it is cooler.

Perhaps your recipe had an excess of water? If the water evaporated quickly in a very hot environment during the 2 day insulation period, that could cause a warping or sagging look to the loaf.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Cathy

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by: Anonymous

My soaps have that saggy look too. I am sure my last batch looked relatively level when I put it in the mould, but when it was cool 3 hours later, it looked lower in the middle
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by: laurie

that's funny, my does that too. Only with the hot process. It does it every batch, regardless of batch size or house temperature, and I always insulated hot processed the same. I just figured since the soap came out right; it was normal and just something no one talks about and trims it even.


I am very interested in reading other peoples take on this.

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