I've been soaping for years and CPOPing my soap almost from the beginning. Back when I started doing it, there was just one way, I loved it, and it worked for me every time. Since then, I've read about "cooking" the soap with the CPOP method, and I've also read about people's problems with CPOP causing bubbles, volcanoes, etc. All of that is a mystery to me. The whole thing about "cooking" the soap confounds me also. The purpose of CPOP, originally anyway, was to insure that the soap gelled all the way to the edges. There was no "cooking" involved, just gentle heating. This is how it went, and how I do it to this day. Turn the oven on to it's lowest setting, whatever that is. Put the mold in the oven while making the soap, letting it get nice and toasty. After making the soap, pull out the mold, close the oven door, pour the soap, put the filled mold back in the oven and......turn the oven off! No cooking involved. Just soap batter poured into a warmed mold, then placed in a warmed oven. Gentle heat is the key. I've never had bubbles, cracks or volcanoes. Where the idea of cooking the soap came from, I have no idea. I end up with gelled soap, and no problems. This CPOP method couldn't be easier, and it works. I always feel badly when I hear about people having problems with CPOP, and then I read about how they do it and think....but that's not CPOP! I don't know how this new idea of cooking the soap crept into the rules of CPOP, but it's not necessary, and I think this overheating causes most of the problems people are having. Can you tell I feel strongly about how much I love this method? LOL