Yogurt from Powdered Milk

Ingredients

• 7 ½ c. hot water
• 2 c. dry powdered milk (NON-instant)
• 4 – 8 oz. store bought plain yogurt WITH live & active cultures to use as a starter (can use freeze dried yogurt starters that are sold in packets)
• TOOLS:
• Thermometer with a range between 100 – 200 degrees F
• Sanitized glass containers (or plastic) with lids
• Whisk

Instructions

1. To begin, pull out your yogurt starter and let it come to room temperature if it is frozen.
2. Whisk the powdered milk into a pot filled with the hot water and continue stirring as you heat it to at least 180 degrees F. (It takes somewhere between 5 – 8 min with the burner turned on high or medium high.)
3. Continue stirring and hold it at a high heat (sometimes mine gets up to 200 degrees F) for 2 – 5 minutes to line up the milk proteins so you’ll get a nice thick yogurt.
4. Remove from the burner and let it cool to 110 degrees F. This can take an hour or two if you leave it in the pot so if you’re pressed for time pour it into a cake pan to increase the surface area and it will cool in around 30 min. Once the hot milk has reached 105 – 110 degrees F you can add the yogurt starter. If you add it earlier it will kill the good bacteria that turns the milk into yogurt so don’t cheat!
5. I like to pour about a cup of the hot milk into the yogurt starter and mix it really well before pouring that mixture into the rest of the hot milk to make sure it stirs in nice and even.
6. Pour the milk & yogurt mixture into a glass container with a lid for incubation. I have used 2 quarts and 1 pint jar, a glass cake pan, or a glass mixing bowl and they all work great. Turn your oven on to the lowest setting (mine is 170 degrees F) just to warm it up and then TURN IT OFF. Wrap your glass container in a towel or two while you’re waiting for the oven to warm up.
7. After turning off the warmed oven, open the door nice and wide to let a bit of the heat out. Then put your towel wrapped glass container inside, turn the oven light ON, and close the door for 6 – 8 hours. The longer you let it incubate the thicker & tangier it will get so let it develop to your liking.
8. After the 6 – 8 hour incubation, pull out your yogurt and check to make sure it’s as thick as you’d like by taking a little scoop and see if it holds its shape.
9. Put it in the fridge to cool and then serve with a drizzle of honey and a drop of vanilla, fold in some jam, or sprinkle with some delicious granola.

 

from Plan to Prepare. . . Today (via Shauna Eccles)