So while we were out at the ranch during our July vacation, I saw some handmade soap that my mother-in-law had in the bathroom. The curiosity bug hit me, and I began to research. I checked out websites and blogs. I watched videos. I was determined to pick up a new hobby. I started cold processing soap. So I’ve soaped a bit, but I think I’m ready to blog about it.

A castille soap is a soap made purely of olive oil, lye and liquid such as water. This is a simple recipe, but I have never attempted one, that is, until now. And I must say, I LOVE the way it feels just sitting on the curing rack. Of course I photographed the process as I went.

First, I mixed my lye and water so that it would have a chance to cool down while I got my oil ready. When I took the temperature, the mixture was about 125 degrees F. And, no, I didn’t stick my head over the pitcher. I avoided the fumes and only held the camera over it.

Here is my olive oil just waiting for the lye water to cool down to be ready to mix. There wasn’t much prepping to do for the oils since there was only 1.

Since the temperature of the lye water was so high, I helped speed up the cooling process by an ice bath.

When the lye water was around 100 degrees F, I slowly added it to the olive oil.

Now I use my trusty stick blender to mix the oil and water. We want emulsification, people!

After enough stirring, it’s all emulsified and looks like butter. I did not mix it to thick trace as in the past my batters have thickened too much.

Now into the mold we go. Since this was a small test batch, I decided to put it into the silicone medium cupcake pan. Hand-sized that way. Could be used as guest bars.

Now to just put Saran Wrap over the top and wrap in a towel to set.

A little after 24 hours – no peeking! – I unmolded them and set them on the rack to cure. They feel as smooth and silky as they look. Now jut to wait 4-6 weeks longer to reach perfection.

Here’s a peppermint loaf I unmolded on the same day.

And here’s the peppermint cut and curing on the rack. Unfortunately, the peppermint scent is not as strong now as when I unmolded it a few days ago.

I also soaped my lovely milk and oatmeal soap this day, too. This time using buttermilk instead of goat’s milk. Maybe pictures of that tomorrow. Stay tuned to find out. And as always, comments are welcome!