Making it ourselves.

Eldest had been craving plain yogurt for a while. Especially home made. It's been quite a long time we've made any. She's tending the pot as I write this now. :-D


Making yogurt is so easy, it's almost a shame to buy it from a store, other than for starter. Which is what we picked up today. Plain yogurt with live bacterial culture in it. If you want to give it a try, this is how we do it.

First, you'll need some milk, of course. We're using a full 4L jug (1 gallon) of homo milk (3.4% or homogenized). Raw milk would be better, but oh well.

Because I happen to have some, I added about 2/3 cup of powdered milk. It isn't necessary, but it will make for a slightly thicker yogurt, if that's your preference.

For a starter, you can buy the bacterial culture, or pick up some plain yogurt from the store. Just make sure the purchased yogurt is labelled as having live bacterial culture in it. For the amount of milk we're using, I've got about 1/2-3/4 cup set aside. I didn't actually measure it.

You'll also need a candy thermometer and a large pot. I use my stainless steel stock pot because it's easily sterilized and has a well fitted lid. The milk (and optional milk powder) is heated to 170F - 180F. Or, if you don't have a thermometer, heat it until scalding (just until bubbles begin to show along the edges of the pot). Turn off the heat and let the milk cool, stirring every now and then, until the temperature is about 105F - 110F, or until it's cool enough that you can keep your finger in the milk for 10 seconds without scalding yourself. Personally, I prefer a thermometer. ;-)

Once it's cooled down enough, stir in the starter. Mix until just thoroughly blended.

The next step is important. You need to keep the mixture warm for quite a long time. What I find works well is to pre-heat the oven to its lowest setting - about 100F - while the milk is cooling, then shut it off while leaving the oven light on. By the time the milk is cooled and the starter mixed in, the oven should be not too hot, not too cold. I then cover the pot and leave it in the over overnight with the light on. By morning, it should be set. I was considering using the stock pot set on warm this time, but I'll stick to the way I know for now. Other methods include using a thermos, keeping the container in a hot water bath, or well wrapped in towels. I've only ever used the oven method and have never had a problem with it.

Once it's set, you can pour the yogurt into clean containers and refrigerate. You can flavour the yogurt by adding honey, jam, or frozen fruit.

Tomorrow, we'll be using half of the yogurt to make yogurt cheese and reserve the liquid for bread baking.

Bread made with this liquid is absolutely sublime!!!