Make Me Some Yogurt. You Can Do That?

Yesterday was a busy kitchen day.  I worked on three projects, making a loaf of bread (bread maker), cookies, and making fresh yogurt.  Yes, I made yogurt at home.  I was fortunate that I didn't eat all the yogurt that was in the refrigerator because I needed a bit of that to start my own.  It's very important to stress the yogurt used to start your own needs to be free of any additives.  Just milk and enzymes as ingredients.  Most grocery stores offer this, but you may have to search for it in the yogurt section.  One brand that calls itself organic is Stonyfield.  I've never used this brand, but if you read the label you may find there are no additives.  After reading the label I used the yogurt I get from the milk man who delivers to my home every week.  The recipe is simple and the labor takes about 5 minutes.

Yogurt (This can be made in a larger batch using one gallon of milk and 2 tablespoons of yogurt.)

You will need
A crockpot, any size
A thermometer, Any type of kitchen thermometer works
A large towel
An oven with a light in it
2 C milk, any fat content (I used 1%)
1 t plain yogurt
A measuring cup
Measuring spoons

Place the crockpot on the 'high' setting.  Add the milk and bring up to 190 degrees (F.)  This took about 30 minutes in my crockpot.  Keep an eye on it as this may be different in yours.  Place the lid on.  It will be longer if you make a larger batch.

Turn off the crockpot when the milk heats to 190 degrees (F.)  Keep the lid on and allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees (F.)  This took about 40 minutes for my milk to cool.

Remove about 3/4 C of the milk in a small bowl and mix the yogurt in it until it dissolves.  Add this to the milk in the crockpot and gently stir it in.

Wrap the crockpot insert (lid on) in a large towel and place in the oven with the light on.  Leave over night  In the morning you will have delicious and pure yogurt.  A very small amount (1/3 C) of separation may occur, you can drain it off and use it in a baking project if you like.

Place in the refrigerator for an hour to firm it up.  Enjoy with fruit, nuts, honey, or what ever suits you.   Yummo!

From 2 cups of milk...

to delicious breakfast.  The yogurt and a slice of home made bread with peanut butter makes
a power packed breakfast.

The home made bread, sliced and ready to eat.  This loaf came out lighter and larger than those
in the past because I used the thermometer I had out for the yogurt
to bring the liquid up to 110 degrees (F).  In the past I used the touch of my finger. 
A lesson well learned.  I store this in the freezer because it has no preservatives in it.

I added walnuts and dried cranberries to the cookie mix to provide a bit of healthy
 ingredients.  I know these will be gone in a flash.  I only cooked 16 cookies
then froze the rest (3 dozen total from the batch) in preformed balls for easy
access and baking.  Pre forming them never occurred to me until a friend asked why I didn't do this.
Geez, I don't know.  It never occurred to me?  Thankfully, I have smart friends!