Frementing Yogurt

Making yogurt is easier than you think! You don’t need a yogurt maker or special culture for a perfect bowl of thick, rich yogurt. Homemade yogurt is an affordable way to get a dose of probiotics!

Slowly heat the milk on the stove to 180 F (80 C). Whisk occasionally to keep the milk from scalding on the bottom of the pot. (Heating the milk causes the whey proteins to denature making for thicker yogurt. You could skip this step, but your yogurt won’t be as thick).
Skim milk powder can be whisked in at this point. It is an easy way to add protein and richness to homemade yogurt, but it’s not necessary.
Pour the hot milk into a glass jar. Leave it to cool to 105 F (40C).
When the milk has cooled, stir in the culture. If you are using store-bought yogurt you may want to add up to 4 tablespoon yogurt as they tend to have weaker cultures.
Maintain at around 110F (40 C) until it is set to a pudding-like consistency (for at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours for really sour yogurt.) Place the yogurt in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it cools.

If you don’t have a thermometer
, then heat your yogurt until it whisks up nice and frothy, then cool it to just above room temperature. However, I recommend getting a thermometer if you want to make nice thick yogurt because accuracy in heating the milk is key.
Feel free to use raw milk, goat’s milk, or regular cow’s milk. However, UHT milk may not thicken as expected.
Homemade yogurt can be flavored just like store-bought yogurt. Add jam, fresh fruit, vanilla, or cinnamon! Just don’t add the flavors before culturing, or it may interfere with properly setting the yogurt.
If you want to make cream-top yogurt, use non-homogenized milk. If you can’t find non-homogenized milk then add a few tablespoons of cream to the top of the jar before fermenting. It won’t be the same, but it will taste good!
Here’s how to turn your homemade yogurt into thickened Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese.