Plain Yogurt

I eat yogurt every day.  Not the regular Yoplait stuff, but the thick expensive Greek-style stuff.  I use it in refrigerated overnight oatmeal, which I eat for breakfast almost every morning, and many times I'll have a Chobani for snack during the day as well.  Then one day I saw a link for homemade yogurt on Pinterest, and yes, it piqued my interest.  So I followed the link, and then continued to do more research via Google.  There are a gazillion different ways to make homemade yogurt, with the most popular involving a yogurt machine.  Which I do not have.  And don't want to buy.  Because I lack storage space.  And counter space.  So I compiled a list of recipes and methodologies and began experimenting.

This is what works for me based on these two sites that I found most helpful:

King Arthur Flour - yes, their method involves a yogurt machine, but what I took away from here was that they used nonfat milk and added nonfat dry milk powder to thicken.  My first try with nonfat milk without the powder was too runny.  The addition of powdered milk thickened it perfectly.  When I use 2% milk I find I don't need to add the powder.

The Frugal Girl - she uses whole milk (blech!), but I liked her hot water bath idea.  Not in a big cooler, though.  Her 3-hour incubation time is way too short for 2% and nonfat milk, it was still runny at that point.  I had to incubate 12+ hours to get a nice, thick consistency.

My equipment was all stuff I had on hand: a tub of plain, nonfat organic yogurt, milk (I tried both 2% and nonfat), nonfat dried milk powder, a large sauce pan, some mason jars, and an incubating device (I tried my electric rice cooker, my crockpot, and my Klean Kanteen insulated bottle).  The rice cooker and crockpot worked the best, the Klean Kanteen did work well, but only retained the heat for about 5 hours, which is fine if you like a thinner yogurt (like Yoplait).  I just prefer it a little thicker, so I need longer heat retention for a longer incubation time.

The only thing I didn't have and had to buy was an instant-read thermometer, which I'd been meaning to get anyway.

Also, I had to fiddle around a little until I found the right ratios for my preferences.  So depending on how you like your yogurt, you may need to fiddle as well.  A half gallon is perfect for our family; it conveniently makes 4 pint-sized mason jars, plus an additional half-ish cup that I put into a half-pint jar and is the perfect amount to reserve for the next batch.

I love this homemade stuff because it's tangy and smoooooooooooth.  I don't normally eat just plain yogurt (I'm partial to a drizzle of honey), but I love this stuff straight out of the jar.  It's that good.  The kids and hubby like to add fresh fruit or a little bit of preserves to it.  It's thicker than regular yogurt, but not quite as thick as Greek-style yogurt.  If I want thicker yogurt I just strain it over cheesecloth for an hour or so.

The directions look long, but the process is really simple once you go through it: scald the milk, bring down the temperature to add the culture, place it into a warm incubator and let it set.  I just added a lot of detail.

Plain Yogurt


Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon organic nonfat or 2% milk
• 1 cup organic nonfat dry milk powder (omit if using 2% milk)
• 1/2 cup organic starter (store-bought organic nonfat plain yogurt, or reserved yogurt from your last batch)

Directions:

• For the incubator, plug in your electric rice cooker or crockpot.  Pour about 2 inches of water into the cooking receptacle, put the lid on and set to "warm".  Set aside.
• For the yogurt, pour milk and dry milk powder (omit powder if using 2% milk) into a large sauce pan.  Over medium heat, bring the milk to 185 degrees F, stirring frequently.  It will produce small bubbles.
  
• In the meantime, fill your sink with about 2 inches of cold tap water.
• Once the milk reaches 185 degrees F, remove it from the heat and place the sauce pan into the cold water bath.  Stir frequently until the milk temperature goes down to 120 degrees F.
• In the meantime, unplug your incubator and check the temperature of the water in your incubator.  My rice cooker and crockpot "warm" at about 135 - 140 degrees F.  If your incubator water is above 120 degrees F, add a few ice cubes at a time to bring it down to 120.  Unplug, then put the lid on to keep it warm. 
• Once the milk goes down to 120 degrees F, whisk in the starter.  Make sure you whisk it well to dissolve it all.
• Divide the milk into your mason jars.  Cap them tightly.
  
• Place the jars into your incubator's warm water bath and close the lid.  If using a crockpot, cover the whole thing with a thick bath towel.
  
• Put the incubator somewhere draft-free and out of the way so it won't be jostled.  Let the yogurt incubate for 10 - 12 hours (overnight is good).
  
• Once it's done incubating and reaches your desired thickness, refrigerate promptly.  It will thicken a smidge more in the fridge.
  
• Serve plain or topped with your favorite fruit, preserves, or a drizzle of honey.