Breakfast

Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) is for Breakfast.

Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) takes 5 minutes to prepare.

Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) takes 30 minutes to cook.

Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) makes 16 servings.

The ingredients for Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) are:

1/3 cup Yogurt, plain (Your "culture")
1 gallon Milk, nonfat
1/4 cup Pure Vanilla Extract
1 2/3 cup sugar (optional)

Here is how you make Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup):

1) Stir milk, vanilla, & sugar together in a large pot over medium heat until you reach 180? (about a half hour). 2) Turn the heat down to medium-low. Maintain 180? heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the milk from forming a film on top. 3) Turn off the heat. Patiently wait until the temperature decreases to 115? (about two hours). 4) Remove one cup of the warmed milk and whisk it with the yogurt (culture). Then pour it back into the pot and whisk it all together to incorporate well. 5) Pour the mixture into a large, oven-safe bowl, put it in the oven, with the oven light "on" for 12 hours. The oven light is all the heat you need to "incubate" it. The light should maintain a temperature of approximately 115? in the oven. DON'T DISTURB IT, TOUCH IT, OR MOVE IT...OR THE YOGURT WON'T SET PROPERLY. The temperature should stay between 110?-125? for the 12 hour incubation. Any lower and the bacteria cultures won't grow properly. Any higher and it will kill the bacteria. 6) To make Greek Yogurt: Cool the yogurt. Then, strain it through a cheesecloth in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Save the whey (the yellowish liquid strained off) to make higher protein smoothies with natural probiotics. Or look online for lots of ways to use your whey.... the possibilities are endless! 7) Alternative incubation methods: **Pour 125? water into a crock pot to warm it up. Pour out the water, turn the crock pot off, and pour the milk mixture in. Turn the crock pot back on for 15 minutes every hour to maintain the temperature. **Pour 125? water in a camping cooler, put the covered bowl of milk mixture in, and close it up for 12 hours. It should cool down to approximately 110? by the end of the cooking cycle. **Since I don't have a light in my oven, I put a meat thermometer in my oven to determine where 110-125? was while adjusting the temperature dial. I found that it's halfway between "off" and "warm" (your oven may be different). I set the bowl of prepared milk mixture in the oven with the dial set between "off" and "warm" and let it sit for 12 hours. **Don't worry about being perfect. It's pretty difficult to screw up yogurt if you follow my suggestions** TIPS: **If you use too much yogurt (culture), it can starve the bacteria to death, because there's too much bacteria and not enough lactose for it to feed on, which will make your batch runny. Although some recipes call for a full cup of yogurt culture, I've noticed 1/4 - 1/3 cup works perfectly. Some people only use 2 TBSP. **The more culture added, the tarter the yogurt will be. ** The closer the temperature is to 125?, the tarter the yogurt will be. I prefer to keep my temperature as close to 110? as possible, and incubate for 12 hours. Some people incubate as little as 6 hours or as long as 24 hours. **The higher the fat content, the thicker and creamier the yogurt will be. I started making yogurt with whole milk. For a dessert batch, I even added 2 cups of whipping cream! DELICIOUS!!! Once I got the hang of it, I slowly started reducing the fat content. **The longer the incubation period, the thicker and tarter the yogurt will be. 12 hours seems to give me the right taste and texture, but you may want to incubate longer if you're using nonfat yogurt or shorter if you want to minimize the tang or thickness. **To increase thickness, you can warm the milk longer, add powdered milk before heating, incubate longer, or strain it through a cheesecloth. I haven't had to use any powdered milk with the 30 minute warming time and 12 hour incubation. I do strain it through a cheesecloth for extra thick yogurt. **Other than warming it on the stove with sugar and vanilla, don't flavor your yogurt until after it has set in the refrigerator. If you do, it will end up runny. **If you want "fruit on the bottom," you can add a teaspoon or two of your favorite jam to a cup of yogurt. **My husband loves Dulce De Leche with his yogurt. To make it, I boil a can of sweetened, condensed milk on the stove for 3 hours, making sure the water covers the can completely at all times (otherwise, it can explode). **I make my own vanilla extract by cutting 6 vanilla beans lengthwise, and placing them in a mason jar with 80-100 proof vodka (Monarch brand works well, Safeway sells $5 organic vanilla beans). Shake it up once a week, and leave it in a dark, cool, place. Each time I go to the grocery store, I buy another vanilla bean to add, and refill the vodka, as needed. This provides endless, pure vanilla extract at a fraction of the cost. Serving Size: One cup. Makes 16, one cup servingsNumber of Servings: 16.0Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BRIDGETMAYS.

The nutritional information for Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 16
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 86.8

• Total Fat: 0.3 g
• Cholesterol: 5.3 mg
• Sodium: 106.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 12.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
• Protein: 8.6 g

The dietary needs meet for Bridget May's EASY Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt W/OUT A Yogurt Maker (one cup) is Low Fat