Pre-heat mould before pouring to prevent semi-gel due to mould mass?

[RogueRose]

I happened to discover that my thick wooden mould may be too dense and extract too much heat from the setting soap. The wood is 3/4" MDF which is much more dense than something like plywood.

Has anyone else run into something like this and found a way to get a homogeneous gelling? I'm not sure what temperature would be appropriate for this but since I've mixed the oils and water at 115, I would guess that this would be a safe temp to heat the mould prior to pouring and properly insulate the top of the loaf as well.

 

[KristaMarie]

I've never thought of that, but don't see why it would be an issue. I freeze my molds to prevent gel, why not the opposite?

For CPOP, I set my oven to 170 then turn it off, so I know my molds can handle that temp and most of my soaps can handle it without over heating. I would put the oven on the lowest setting and throw the mold in for fifteen minutes-ish.

Have you tried using a heating pad? I usually try to avoid gel, so I don't have any experience with them, but I've seen quite a few mentions of it here. Might be a little less fuss

 

[osso]

You should be able to preheat on your lowest oven setting. I have done so before with success. These days I use a heating pad underneath and towels on top to insulate. Haven't had any issues with partial gel.