Here is my favourite recipe for making thick, creamy yoghurt, without any of the additives (guar gum, pectin, gelatin, sugar, sweeteners, etc.) that are used to thicken and sweeten store-bought yoghurts. You don’t even need a yoghurt maker to make homemade yoghurt. I’ll share how below.

I first started making homemade yoghurt about eight or nine years ago. My twin sister had just been diagnosed with a dairy intolerance, her gut was really inflamed (she had leaky gut at the time) and her skin was covered in acne.

I was reading up about the importance of beneficial bacteria in the gut and ways to boost this with probiotic foods. I’d made sauerkraut, fermented vegetables, and now I wanted to try making homemade yoghurt.

We didn’t have a yoghurt maker in our home, so I looked into other ways you could make yoghurt and discovered the crockpot.

The first batch of yoghurt I ever made was with unhomogenised, pasteurised full-cream milk. I remember because when I opened the carton of milk, there was all this delicious cream sitting on the top. I also used some yoghurt culture starter I’d bought from my local health food store.

I let the yoghurt curate for over 48 hours, and it was a complete success.

I had originally made the yoghurt for my twin sister to use on her skin, and thought she might be able to have some as it was free of any of the additives that store-bought yoghurts come with. Plus the milk was as natural as I could find at the time (I thought unhomogenised milk might make a difference). I’d read that the best type of dairy to have was the raw kind; organic, unhomogenised, unpasteurised, and unprocessed in any way, but I could only find unhomogenised, so that had to do.

My sister could tolerate some of the dairy yoghurt I had made for her, but if she had too much her gut would become inflamed.

This was eight years ago.

Since then, my sister and I have been able to help heal and seal our leaky guts with the help of following the GAPS diet. It is a nutritional protocol outlined in Natasha Campbell-McBride’s book, GAPS: Gut and Psychology Syndrome, and focuses on healing and sealing the gut wall to prevent it essentially ‘leaking’ undigested food particles and toxins like yeast, bacteria, pathogens, and waste into the bloodstream. I share more about leaky gut syndrome here.

Probiotic foods play a big part in this nutritional protocol, as they help to establish a healthy gut flora along the digestive tract and throughout the body. One of my favourite recipes that I love to make is this homemade yoghurt. One of the benefits of making your own yoghurt is it is free from additives, preservatives, and flavourings, and is also fermented for a longer period of time, promoting a more probiotic-rich culture in the yoghurt.

I now like to make homemade yogurt with my yoghurt maker, as it makes the whole process a lot easier, but I will share below a recipe for making homemade yoghurt without a yoghurt maker.

Eating organic, raw, unpasteurised dairy can have its risks due to the presence of harmful bacteria and other pathogens. Consume this dairy with caution and ensure you source the milk from trusted suppliers.

Sourcing the Ingredients

The best starters are pre-made cultures. You can find a number of different options at Cultures For Health or health food stores around your area. Alternatively, you can also just use store-bought yoghurt as the starter culture (which is what I did for this batch). It is a great way of testing how probiotic (or not) a certain brand of yoghurt is.

There are a few things to look for when using store-bought yoghurt:

• Only use plain, unsweetened yoghurt. Organic is preferable.
• Smaller, local yoghurt brands usually contain a better probiotic level than national brands.
• I’ve had great success with plain Meredith Dairy: Natural Goat Milk Yoghurt and Jalna: Biodynamic Organic Whole Milk Yoghurt (neither of these are affiliate links).

Problems That Might Occur

If you do not have thick yoghurt after 36 to 48 hours then it is likely due to one of the following problems:

• The starter didn’t have enough live bacteria in it.
• If an heirloom culture was used it might be one that doesn’t naturally thicken (so all the probiotic goodness is there, but the yoghurt will not develop a lovely thick, creamy consistency)
• You may have added the starter before the milk had cooled to 38 °C (100 °F) and possibly killed the bacteria.
• It wasn’t warm enough during the culturing period (while it was fermenting the temperature dropped too much and the culture couldn’t ferment properly).

Before we get started in learning how to make this creamy homemade yoghurt recipe, if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my email newsletter at the bottom of the page to keep up to date on the latest recipes, DIYs, gardening and health tips I share!

Homemade Creamy Yoghurt Recipe

A simple guide for making yoghurt at home without a yoghurt maker.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 to 2 L raw organic full-cream milk (I used Heavenly Bath Milk Organic Biodynamic Jersey Bath Milk which I sourced from Flannerys)
• 1 to 2 cups yoghurt with the live culture (I used Meredith Dairy: Natural Goat Milk Yoghurt which I sourced from Flannerys)

To Make:

1. To make your very own homemade yoghurt, start by sterilising the jars or glass container you’ll be using with boiling water. To sterilise, rinse the jars or container thoroughly with boiling water and leave them to dry completely before using. Make sure to let the jars cool back down to room temperature before adding the ingredients.
2. Next, add the 1.5 to 2 litres of milk to a large saucepan and allow it slowly heat on the stove-top over medium-low heat until the milk reaches a temperature of 82 °C (179 °F). Keep the milk at this temperature for 10 minutes. Stir the milk throughout this time to keep it from burning on the bottom of the pan. Heating the milk denatures the proteins which can help in making a thicker, creamier yoghurt. You’re welcome to skip this step, but your yoghurt may not be as thick. 
3. Next, allow the milk to cool to 38 °C (100 °F). Stir the milk during this time to prevent it developing a film on top of the milk. To test if it’s cool enough, pour a few drops of the milk on the underside of the wrist and if it’s just warm, it’s ready. If it’s too hot allow it to cool a little longer. If it’s too cold, reheat the milk back up until just warm.
4. Once cooled, add one third (1/3) of the milk to a large glass jar or container, and stir through the yoghurt starter or cup of yoghurt with the live culture you’ll be using. Next, add the rest of the milk to the jar or container and stir the mixture well to combine. Then, cap the lid on tightly.
5. For this next step I like to use a yoghurt maker set to 38 °C and allow it to ferment for 36 hours, but to ferment this yoghurt without a yoghurt maker, simply wrap the container or jar in a couple of layers of tea towels and place the container in the oven. Turn on the oven light to keep the jar warm, and let the bacteria work their magic over the next 36 hours. Do not turn the oven on though. It will be too hot. You want to keep the yoghurt at around 38 °C to 40 °C for 36 hours. If it gets too cold, the yoghurt will not work either.
6. Once fermented, place the yoghurt in the fridge to set for 8 hours or so. You can then eat the yoghurt as is, or strain out the whey to make thick Greek style yoghurt. To strain the yoghurt, line a mesh sieve with some cheesecloth or a nut milk bag and pour in the yoghurt. Place it over a large bowl and let it strain in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours (or overnight), until it has reached your desired consistency. Keep the whey in a glass jar and store it in the fridge for up to one week. The whey can be consumed as a probiotic-rich beverage.
7. My first batch of yoghurt turned into curds and whey when I made it with a yoghurt starter culture, which is quite normal when using a starter culture. So, I used one cup of this curds and whey batch to make the next batch, and it worked perfectly. Sometimes the bacteria needs to mature a little to make a good quality yoghurt, so it may take a couple of goes if using a yoghurt starter culture to get the right consistency.
8. You can flavour your homemade yoghurt with fresh fruit, raw honey, vanilla extract, and more. Just ensure you do not add the flavours before culturing, as it may interfere with the fermentation process of the yoghurt.

This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice. The use of information on this blog or materials linked from this blog is at the user’s own risk. The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Have you made homemade yoghurt before? How did it go? Share in the comments below.

Lots of love,

Vanessa