The Best Homemade Yogurt

5 from 5 votes

Making yogurt is a simple process, but there is some complex information behind the method. It's a good idea to read through the post for this one! :)

Prep Time30

Cook Time16

Total Time16 30

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dairy

Cuisine: American

Meal: Breakfast, Brunch, Snacks

Servings: cups*

Calories: 195kcal

Author: Donalyn Ketchum

Ingredients

1/2 gallon fresh whole milk
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt with active cultures.

Instructions

Pour the milk into a 5 quart stainless steel pot
Set the pot over medium heat, and stirring frequently, bring the temperature up to about 185°F
Lower the heat to a level that will maintain 185°F, checking frequently to make sure it is not getting too hot. Stir every now and again.
Set a timer for 30 minutes and hold the milk at 185°F for that amount of time
After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and wait for the milk to cool down to about 115°F
Whisk the yogurt into the milk, until they are completely combined. You can put the yogurt in a bowl and whisk a bit of the warm milk in before adding it to the pot of milk, but I don't usually bother. It is easier though.
Cover the pot. Preheat the oven to around 120°F, and turn it off.
Set the pot on a middle oven rack, wrap a bath towel around it, and shut the door.

⭐Make sure you set a timer and stay close while you're heating the oven

After about 4 hours, you can repeat the process of heating the oven for 5 minutes, and then turn it back off. Don't stir the yogurt at all while it is culturing. Then in another 4 hours, heat the oven slightly again, and then shut it off. At this point, it is late enough in the day, that I can leave it until the next morning, at the ambient temperature in the room.
When the yogurt is as thick as you want it to be, you can either put it straight in the fridge, or strain it, to remove some of the whey. Line a large strainer with several layers of cheesecloth, or a flour sacking towel, and place it on top of large bowl, to catch the why. Scoop all of the yogurt into the strainer.
At room temperature the whey will drain out more quickly, but you can put the whole thing in the fridge.
Allow the yogurt to drain until you have the consistency that you like. If you should happen to accidently let it drain more than you really wanted to, you can easily whisk some of the whey back into the yogurt.
I like to keep yogurt in wide mouth quart canning jars, because they are easy to fit in my fridge and I have lots of canning jars. See notes for storage and serving suggestions.

Notes

*the yield is going to depend partly on how much whey you drain from the yogurt.

The nutrition cited is based on not draining the whey at all, but it is not going to change a whole lot if you take off a cup of whey.

To store yogurt, I strongly suggest some kind of glass container. Yogurt is a cultured, or fermented food. It is live food, and as such, has the potential for leaching chemicals out of plastic.

Homemade yogurt will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week, at least. This partly depends on the freshness of the milk and yogurt that you used, and I have kept it longer, but for advice on the internet, I am going to say a week.

If the yogurt separates a bit, just stir it back up before serving.

Serving suggestions: My favorite way to eat yogurt, is with fruit, plus a little bit of honey or maple syrup. [if you're watching your sugar intake, monkfruit works really well too]. Fresh or frozen berries work equally well. Granola is also really good with yogurt - I love that crunch.

Yogurt is also great for savory foods. It is great in salad dressings, as a marinade for grilled foods, and as a topping for tacos or chili or in dips and spreads.

Nutrition