How to Make Yogurt - 'So Your Muffins Taste Betta'

As a follow up to a previous post here is how I make non fat Greek yogurt.  You can make it with any kind of milk you want but I am into non fat where ever possible.  Make your  yogurt cozy for 12 hours at 110 F by placing 2 folded in half kitchen towels over a heating pad set to high which is covering a wooden cutting board.  Get a large bath towel folded in half to cover the kitchen towels. 

Take 1/3 cup of non fat dry milk powder and put it in a 2 quart sauce pan.  Add 1 quart of milk and stir until the powder dissolves.  Turn on high heat and stir constantly with a SS spoon until temperature hits 140 F then turn down heat to medium and cook to 185 F.  Then turn off heat.

Move pot to an ice water bath.  Stir until milk goes doen to 120 degrees.  Remove from ice water and dry the bottom of the pot.  Wait until temperature hits 115 then strir in 2-3 T of plain yogurt that has active cultures listed on the label.  Make sure the yogurt is well disolved.  The temperature will now be around 110 f.  From now on, for the next 12 hours,  you want to keep that temperature as much as possible.

Put the lid on the pot and move it to its warm cozy home for the next 12 hours.  lift off eh large bath towel, place temperature probe on teh top kitchen towel and place the pot on top of the probe.  Cover the pot with the doubled up bath towel and turn the temperature control of the heating pad down to medium.  Do not move the pot or jostle it for the next 12 hours.  Your heating pas may be better or worse so monitor the temp to make sure that it stays in the 105 to 115 F range.   I've had it 5 degrees lower and higher  with no problem. 

After 12 hours, transfer the yogurt to a colander that is lined with a couple of paper towels and set the colander back into the pot you made the yogurt in and  cover the colander with plastic wrap.  Let drain from 1 to 4 hours in teh refrigerator.  I have let it drain overnight too.  The longer, the thicker the yogurt will get.  See previous blog entry for picture of that.  Save the drippings to replace some of the water when you make SD bread to depen the flavor and sour.  Happy Yogurting & Baking!