Homemade Yogurt Made in a Crockpot

This is my favorite new recipe.  I have made around 10 batches of homemade yogurt in the past couple months. I found the recipe at A Year of Slowcooking.  Who knew it was so easy?  I didn't really eat a lot of yogurt to begin with but I saw this and knew that I had to try it.  Now I eat it almost every day in one way or another. I make smoothies.  I eat it with a variety of fruit with a squirt of amaretto agave nectar. I add it to my blueberry muffin batter.  I have put it in soup.  My newest passion is homemade frozen yogurt.  YUM!   

I used whole milk in my first batch, because I read that you should start here when you are new at making yogurt.  I then went to 2% and now I only use 1%.  It worked equally well with all of them.  You aren't supposed to use ultra-pasteurized milk, but I accidently bought some organic milk that I didn't realize was ultra-pasteurized.  By the time I realized what I had done I decided to go ahead and give it a try.  I had no hope of it turning out.  But, it did!  I was shocked! 

So, this is how I make the yogurt. The only three ingredients you need are a carton of plain yogurt that has active live cultures, some fat free powdered milk and half a gallon of milk (not ultra-pasteurized).  This is the yogurt I have used as a starter.

The two tools you need to make your yogurt is a thermometer and a crockpot.  This is my crockpot that I use.

I pour the milk into the crockpot.  Turn it onto low and heat for 2 hours.  I then turn the crockpot off and let it cool to about 120-130 degrees.  This is very important!  If it is too hot the live bacteria will die.  If it is too cold the bacteria will not grow.  I check the temperature with a candy thermometer.  Once it is cooled to the correct temperature, I take the yogurt starter that has been brought to room temperature and mix it with 1/2 cup of powdered milk.  The milk is supposed to thicken the yogurt.  I then add two ladles full of the warmed milk from the crockpot to the yogurt mixture.  Mix well.  Then, I gently mix in the yogurt/milk mixture into the rest of the warm milk in the crockpot.  I put the lid on the crockpot and then cover the crockpot with about five blankets.  I leave it like that for about 24 hours.  AND THEN!  I have homemade yogurt!

I usually put my milk in the pot around 6:00.  Let it heat until 8:00.  It cools in about 2 hours to the correct temperature.  I add the yogurt and powdered milk and then I cover it before I go to bed.  When I get home from work the next evening the yogurt is ready. 

There are many methods online for making yogurt.  Some involve putting the yogurt mixture in a cooler with warm blankets.  Some involve setting the pot on a heating pad.  I didn't put this much effort into mine and it turns out perfect every time!  The only time mine did not turn out was when I forgot about my milk heating in the first stage.  It cooked for about 4 minutes.  Way too long!  I had to dump it out and start over again. 

So some people ask:  Why would you make your own yogurt when you can just go buy it at the store?  There are several reasons.  First of all, I know what is in my yogurt.  There are no preservatives, chemicals or sugar.  Next, it is super cheap.  One carton costs around $1 each at the store.  I make about 8 cups of fresh yogurt with very little effort and about $2.  Why wouldn't you make your own? 

Note:  This yogurt is not super thick.  If I want thicker yogurt I strain it in a coffee filter over a bowl. 

I have let it strain for 2 days and it turns into the consistency of softened cream cheese.  This worked very well in my fruit tart I made. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!


I am posting this at Make It From Scratch.  Come check out the other posts!