A few months ago, I posted this recipe for crockpot yogurt. I've actually have mixed results with it, probably my fault. It's not that scientific, just giving times for each stage of the yogurt-making process, and appliances like crockpots never all work the same!
This week, I went out and bought a cooking thermometer and decided to monitor my temperatures more than just watch clock and my yogurt turned out much better.
Here's what I did:
1) I poured 1/2 gallon of organic 2% milk into my crockpot and turned it on low. I stirred it every so often.
2) When it had reached 180 degrees Fahrenheit (enough to kill bad bacteria and keep the milk from destroying the culture), I unplugged it and let it cool to 115. It took about 3 hours to heat the milk and about 2 hours to let it cool.
3) When the milk was at 115 degrees, I removed about 2 cups of it and stirred in 4 T of store-bought plain yogurt with live cultures in it. Then I added that mixture into the milk and stirred it well with a whisk.
4) I used a lot of towels to wrap up my crockpot of milk/yogurt this time and I think that made a huge difference. You really want to keep the temperature from falling too much too quickly. Basically, the longer it stays at 115, the better.
5) I let it culture over night (about 9 hours). When I checked it this morning, it looked great. It probably could have left it for longer, but I was eager to have it for breakfast. It's still runnier than store-bought yogurt but not bad.
The one thing I have yet to try is adding some powdered milk to it to thicken it up. I just have to find a grocery store around her that sells powdered milk!
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