Making Yogurt, Attempt #1

1/2 gallon of Kleinpeter Dairy Whole Milk
1/2 cup of Horizon Organic Plain Yogurt with live and active cultures
Sauce pot
#4 on the dial (gas stove)
started at 2:29 p.m.

At 2:50, the milk was heated to 180-185 and a film started to form. I turned off the heat and changed the pot to another burner. This source says that the right temperature is the one at which milk starts to froth, like in a latte. It sure was frothing! I'll let it sit for 30 minutes to see what temperature it is then. (While I call my mother...) At 3:25 the milk is at about 115 so I'm going to inoculate.

At 3:27 I set the oven to pre-heat to 350. At 3:31 the oven was heated to 150 so I turned it off. It really doesn't take that long for it to heat up! I'm going to wait a few more minutes in the hope that it will cool. I'm afraid of killing my little bacteria! I have the oven door open and I'm hoping that the oven will cool... the thermometer went up after I turned the oven off. Oy. As I wait I'm eating too-crusty bread with Vegemite...

And I made this for a "lunch" snack: it's bread soaked in milk with garam masala, cinnamon and honey with warmed peaches. Definitely comfort food.

At 3:44 p.m. the temperature was around 115 so I wrapped up the saucepan in my Boston Red Sox towel and put it in the oven. 

Thank you to The Kitchn, Salad in a Jar, and Micheal W. Reeps for your helpful tips! 

I came home at about 9 p.m. and checked on the yogurt. It pulled away from the pan when I tipped it, but it wasn't as tangy as I'd like. But, I was tired so instead of putting it back into the oven I stirred it and chilled it overnight. In the morning I made a smoothie with it, adding strawberries, peaches and flaxseed. It made my tummy a little unhappy, but then when I had it with granola this evening it was delicious! So maybe it'll get better with age. =) 

Here's to next time!