Teach Soap

Just wondering - I am experimenting with not cutting a few current batches.. I regularly leave the cut bars to dry/cure for 4-6 weeks. But I have a few loaves that are destined for a summer market where I want to be able to cut the logs for sale on site.
I am not sure how long the loaf, as a whole, will take to cure... It needs to be firm enough for the customer to take home and use, but not hard as a rock...I still need to be able to cut it.

I will have a big strong guy to help me cut it at the market, though :_ He cut some soap that a friend gave me, in whole loaves, a few years back. It was as hard as a rock, and tough to cut, but he did a great job.

I guess what I am looking for is something like: "My cut bars are ready in 5 weeks, but I find that whole loaves take 30% longer..."

any thoughts?

I cut a loaf after 4 weeks, it was still soft and squishy inside. Not sure how long it would take to be solid throughout.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

The inside of the loaf will be softer because water hasn't had the chance to completely evaporate. After 6 weeks, the outside will be nice and hard, but not the inside. When you cut a piece from a log to use, it will not last as long in the shower as a separate bar.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Yes, of course the inside will be softer - up to a point.... I have, as I mentioned, experienced loaves that were the same hardness all the way through - I just don't know how old they were. Whether that process took double the usual amount of curing time, or triple..or....?

If anyone has any experience that is specific to a time frame,..like" my loaves take 2x as long as cut bars"...or something like that.... I'd love to learn from your experience!