How to Make Yogurt at Home - Easy Step-by-step Guide

If you have never made your own homemade yogurt, you are in for a special treat. When you learn how to make natural probiotic yogurt at home, you’ll never want store bought again! Making yogurt is very easy and the flavor is delicious. Natural homemade yogurt is rich in good probiotic bacteria and can help improve the immune system as well as aid digestion. Probiotic foods and probiotic supplements have been shown to be effective in helping people to lose belly fat.

You can purchase a yogurt maker, or use one of the methods below to keep the milk mixture warm. The yogurt makers are handy because they provide a convenient way to maintain the right temperature for the yogurt to develop; however, yogurt can easily be made without the use of a special yogurt maker.

How to Make Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 quart of milk *

1/3 cup non-fat dry milk

2 T freeze-dried bacteria culture or plain (unflavored) yogurt with active-live cultures

* You can use any kind of milk you like, including no-fat (skim), 1%, 2%, whole milk, soy milk, organic, raw, powdered dry milk, goat’s milk, diluted evaporated milk, pasteurized, homogenized, and more. The only kind of milk that doesn’t work is ultra-high pasteurized or UHP milk because it is processed at such high temperatures that the proteins and bacteria necessary to turn the milk into yogurt are broken down. Experiment with different types of milk for different flavors and texture.

Directions:

Remove starter from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature while you prepare the milk, this will ensure that it is not too cold when you add it to the warm milk mixture.

Heat the milk to 185° F either very carefully on the burner, or by using a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler, you can create one by placing a bowl or small pan on top of another pan that will hold the water. Be sure to watch the milk carefully so that it does not scorch and stir occasionally. If you place the pan directly on a burner, you will want to slowly stir continuously.

Remove the milk from the heat and cool to 110° F. You can lower the temperature quickly and evenly by placing the pan in a cool water bath and stirring occasionally. Do not allow the milk to cool too much, so watch carefully and proceed with the next step when it reaches 110° F.

Stir in the non-fat dry milk. This will not only enhance the nutritional quality of the yogurt, but it will also help it to thicken. Stir in the yogurt culture or freeze dried bacteria culture.

Your first batch of homemade yogurt will require either freeze dried bacteria culture or a purchased yogurt starter, such as a plain (unflavored) yogurt with live-active bacteria. Once you have made your own yogurt, you will be able to use a little of your previous batch to inoculate the next batch.

Pour the milk mixture into either one large container, or several smaller ones. These containers should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed prior to filling. Cover with lids or plastic wrap.

Allow the bacteria in the yogurt to incubate. The probiotic yogurt needs to be kept at about 100° F and not disturbed in order to encourage the growth of good bacteria. Use a thermometer to be sure that the yogurt maintains the proper temperature. One method of incubating the yogurt is to place it in an oven with the pilot light on. Let the yogurt sit for approximately seven to eight hours; it will develop a custard-like texture. The longer you let it sit, the thicker and tangier the yogurt will be.

You can also preheat your oven to 100° F, then turn it off and keep the light on to maintain the temperature. You can turn the oven back on as needed to maintain the necessary temperature, but be very careful to not let it get too hot because it will destroy the bacteria culture and the yogurt won’t set properly.

Some other methods of incubating the yogurt include:

• Place a pan of water on a burner set to low to create a warm water bath.
• Use a slow cooker or crock pot set on low
• Set the yogurt on a warming tray
• Place the yogurt mixture in a thermos container

Store in the refrigerator and chill before serving. Cooling the yogurt in the freezer prior to putting it in the refrigerator will result in a yogurt with a smoother texture. Use within one to two weeks. If using as a starter for another batch of homemade yogurt, use within five to seven days. If you wait much longer, the bacteria may not have enough growing power to produce another batch of yogurt. A thin yellow liquid will form on the top of the yogurt as it sits, this is the whey and is normal; simply pour it off or stir it in before using the yogurt.

Use Probiotic Yogurt to Lose Belly Fat

Research has shown that the best way to lose belly fat is with a diet that includes low-fat dairy. Dairy products have been shown to help people lose belly fat and inhibit the accumulation of further fat deposits.

Yogurt can be used as an ingredient in a number of healthy dishes. Make a delicious sauce to serve with grilled salmon or to brush over baked salmon. There are many uses for homemade yogurt including healthy snacks, smoothies, sauces or in place of sour cream for meat, potato and vegetable dishes.

Homemade yogurt tends to be thinner than the commercially prepared yogurts. This is because most commercial brands include thickening agents such as starch, gum, pectin or gelatin. Without these additional thickeners, your yogurt will naturally be somewhat thinner in consistency. For a thicker consistency, place cheesecloth in a colander and place the colander in a large bowl; pour the yogurt into the colander and put a plate on top. Set in the refrigerator and let the whey drain out of the yogurt. If you let the yogurt drain for a couple of hours, you will end up with Greek yogurt and if you leave it overnight, the yogurt will be very thick, almost like cream cheese. Adjust the thickness by how long you leave the yogurt to drain. If it becomes too thick, you can also stir some whey back in to lighten it up some.