Homemade Yogurt WITHOUT a Yogurt Maker

I LOVE YOGURT! I have loved it for years, but didn't start making my own until about six months ago. It is so easy and satisfying to make and you do not need any special equipment besides your oven and a a candy thermometer. I'm actually making yogurt right now while I'm typing this post. I recommend making it while you do something else because the part that takes the most time is just slowly waiting for the milk to warm up and then waiting more time for the milk to cool. The first few times I tried to make it I watched the milk closely to make sure I got to the right temperature. Now I know the recipe so well, I don't even check the temperature until It's around the right temperature--I just know when it's ready.

I started making yogurt because we were going through 3-4 quarts of yogurt per week and the cost for organic cream top yogurt was almost $4.00 per quart! The cost for a gallon of whole organic milk is also around $6 and there are 4 quarts in one gallon of milk so it is around 1/3 of the cost of yogurt for me to make my own!

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker

1/2 cup plain yogurt for the culture (must contain live and active cultures)

Half gallon of milk (not ultra-pasturized)

Directions:
Heat one half gallon of milk over medium heat, stirring often.
You are going to heat the milk until right before it starts to boil. It will look a little frothy on top and will give off a little bit of steam. The milk needs to be brought up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

At this point you should turn on your oven to "warm" or around 185 degrees F.

The next step is to cool the milk. Let it set until it cools to 110 degree F. If you want you can cool it faster by placing pot in a sink of cold water. I've found it takes about an hour to cool if it is just cooled at room temperature.

Once the milk is cooled to 110 degrees, mix it with the culture. I like to do this in a separate bowl, stirring in a little milk at a time to the yogurt culture to make sure the culture is thoroughly mixed through the milk. Now cover the bowl and place in your oven. Turn the oven off.

The cultures will do their job and turn the milk into creamy delicious yogurt in about 4-6 hours. Then put your bowl in the fridge for another 7 hours and then your yogurt is ready to eat. You can pour off the whey (clear liquid) and reserve it for other purposes like home lacto-fermentation. The more whey you drain out, the thicker your yogurt will be. I reserve the whey for other purposes and when I have it around take a teaspoon of it with each meal to help with digestion.

This recipe was taken and adapted from http://www.yogurt-everyday.com