Name: Easy Homemade Yogurt
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 9 h
Yield: About 7 cups (about 4 cups if strained Greek-style)
Ingredients: 2 quarts (8 cups) milk, any fat level (whole milk gives the creamiest result); 2 teaspoons plain yogurt with live, active cultures, at room temperature

Homemade yogurt needs only two ingredients and no special machine: milk and a little plain yogurt with live cultures to start it. You heat the milk, let it cool to a warm temperature, stir in the starter and keep it cozy overnight. By morning it has set into mild, creamy yogurt. This simple method is a favorite from the KitchenSimplicity archive.

Use it plain for breakfast bowls, smoothies, parfaits and baking, or strain off some of the whey for a thicker Greek-style yogurt. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out of the two temperature checks, and the oven with its light on works as an easy incubator.

Tips

Homemade yogurt keeps for about 1 week in the fridge, covered.
Save a tablespoon of each fresh batch, or freeze a few tablespoons in an ice cube tray, to use as the starter for the next batch.
If your oven has no light, turn the oven on for 1 minute every couple of hours to keep it warm, or set the wrapped bowl in a cooler with a jar of hot water.
Use the drained whey in smoothies or in place of some of the liquid in bread or pancake batter.

Easy Homemade Yogurt

Prep

10 min

Cook

20 min

Total

9 hr

Yield

About 7 cups (about 4 cups if strained Greek-style)

Ingredients

2 quarts (8 cups) milk, any fat level (whole milk gives the creamiest result)
2 teaspoons plain yogurt with live, active cultures, at room temperature

Steps

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan and warm it over medium heat, stirring often so it does not scorch, until it reaches 175 to 180°F on a thermometer. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and let the milk cool, stirring now and then, until it drops to 100 to 115°F, about 30 to 45 minutes. A cold-water bath in the sink speeds this up.
Put the 2 teaspoons of yogurt in a small bowl, whisk in about 1/2 cup of the warm milk until smooth, then whisk this back into the pan.
Pour the mixture into a large glass or ceramic bowl or a round casserole dish and cover it with a lid or plastic wrap.
Turn the oven on for 1 minute just to take off the chill, then switch it off. Wrap the covered bowl in a couple of kitchen towels, set it in the oven and turn on the oven light.
Leave it undisturbed for 8 to 12 hours, until the yogurt has set and tastes pleasantly tangy. A longer rest gives a tarter yogurt.
Stir the yogurt, transfer it to containers and refrigerate. It thickens a little more as it chills.
For Greek-style yogurt, line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth or a clean thin kitchen towel and set it over a large bowl. Pour in the yogurt and let it drain for about 1 hour, or longer in the fridge, until it is as thick as you like. Whisk until smooth and refrigerate in a covered container.