Hand Soap with Shea, Mango, Coconut, Sweet Almond, Avocado, Emu, and Rose Hip Oils

Super Luxurious Homemade Hand Soap

Even though I'm really stepping away from my edibles genre here, I love making lotions and soaps.
My favorite hand cream (which is the best gift ever, and clears up ecema if used regularly) is
Karen's Buttercream.  It is as yummy as it sounds!   

When I moved to Florida, I brought all of my lotion making supplies, but after a while, I wasn't quite sure about the shelf life of some of my luxury butters and oils.
I called Majestic Mountain Sage and their kind technical staff walked me through and helped me create a soap recipe from my "use it or lose it" oils and butters. 

I totally fell in love with this soap after my first batch. I love the smell, and I love the lather, and they make a great gift presentation, wrapped with velum, tied with lemon grass.   

First off - figure out how much you will need by doing the following: 

In a pyrex, measure 3 cups of water. 

Line a box (or mold) with plastic, and add water to check height/size.  Continue adding water, and adjusting recipe (double/triple etc.) as needed. 

6 oz coconut oil

4 oz shea or mango butter (or half and half)

4 oz avocado, emu, sweet almond, or rose hip oil

4 oz hydrogenated soybean oil (crisco)

6 fl oz distilled water

2.3 oz lye

Line a mold (cake mix, muffin or shoe box etc.) with a white trash compactor type of bag (not black).  

Set aside. 

In a dedicated "for soap use only" plastic pitcher, place water, and carefully pour in lye.  Make sure to wear protective clothing and eyewear.  The lye/water mixture will heat up drastically and is extremely caustic - use caution. Allow to cool, until gently warm when a hand is placed on the outside. 

This may take an hour or more. 

Once the lye mixture has cooled to gently warm, combine oils and butters into a "dedicated for soap only" plastic or glass mixing bowl (with high sides).  Add lye solution to butters and oils, and use a blending stick/emulsifier to blend until the oil and water emulsify and achieve trace.  (Trace looks like a spoonful of cake batter, drizzled back into the batter, when the drips and drizzles are visible for a few moments).

Quickly mix in essential oils for scent, and or colors and additives. (I like a combination of cinnamon, clove, bergamot, and lemon grass, or ylang ylang).  You may also enjoy experimenting with finely ground oatmeal, lavendar, rosemary, colors, layering etc.  

Pour mixture into prepared box - lined with plastic bag. 

Allow to rest for 24 hours. 

Release from pan, and cut into bars. 

Allow to harden for 2-3 additional weeks, turning every few days. 

Notes: Don't use glass pans, they get too cold.  Don't use aluminum with the lye. 

Olive oil gives a hard dense lather, coconut and palm kernel give a fluffy lather.

Other recipes - use these with the lye calculator below to determine water and lye amounts: 

Lye calculator link 

6 oz coconut oil

4 oz crisco/hydrogenated soybean oil (crisco)

3 oz shea/mango

3 oz liquid oil - sweet almond, rose hip, jojoba

OR

8 oz coconut oil

4 oz olive oil

4 oz shea or mango

Multi-Grain Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I love to make whole wheat bread.  I'm a 'grind the wheat to make her bread' kind of gal.

For years, I've relied on my trusty "Fool Proof Whole Wheat Bread" recipe, and haven't been let down.  

As I was making it today though, I thought I'd add a few more ingredients, to make it more of a multi-grain whole wheat bread, and I substituted coconut oil for the olive oil.  I was surprised at how much lighter and softer this came out, and my family might have even loved it a bit more than my standard recipe.  

  This recipe takes 2 hours from start to finish, with 30 active minutes 

5 ½ cups warm water

2 1/4 T. dry yeast

2 T. salt

1 cup oil (olive or coconut)

2/3 cup honey

8 cups whole kernel wheat

3 Tablespoons chia

2 Tablespoons flax seed

3/4 cup oats

Combine 5 ½ cups warm water, yeast, salt, oil, and honey in Bosch or large mixer bowl. Let stand 5 -10 minutes to activate yeast.

While yeast proofs, using a wheat grinder, mill 8 cups whole kernel wheat to yield 12 cups of whole-wheat flour.  (The wheat will be warm, and perfect for the yeast if ground at this point). 

Add 8 cups of whole-wheat flour to mixing bowl. If using a Bosch, use the ‘spring-loaded’ position (turning to the left instead of the right) button the switch first to blend the ingredients, or mix on low speed until well blended.

Add 3 – 4 cups more flour, 1 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. (The amount of flour required will vary according to the moisture and protein content of the wheat and your atmosphere/altitude etc. The stickier the dough, the moister the bread, but it should clean the sides of the mixing bowl).   Knead dough on low speed for 10 minutes.

Add flax seeds, chia seeds, and oatmeal, and mix thoroughly.

Oil hands and working surface. Remove dough from mixing bowl and with oiled hands, spread into a large rectangle.  Divide into 6 equal portions.  Starting at one end, begin rolling each section, one at a time, into an oblong shape.  Pinch the ends together and turn underneath.  Place in oiled, metal 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 5/8" bread pans (this size seems to work the best, and metal works better than glass).  If desired, oil the top of the loaves for a soft crust.  Cover with a damp cloth, away from drafts, and let rise 1/3 in bulk, or approx. 35 minutes.  

Bake at 425* for 8 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350* for the remainder of the baking period (27 to 32 minutes). Remove from pans when done, and allow to cool on baking racks. Brush tops with butter or oil immediately.  

*Notes:  I specifically use a Bosch mixer with this recipe.  I've tried it with a Kitchenaid mixer, without the same results.  My guess is that it relates to the Bosch's cover retaining the heat perhaps?