2. you do NOT need to heat the milk. this is the joy of this method and what makes it so very easy!
3. set your oven to 350 while you whisk in a scoop (maybe 2 or 3 T) of plain yogurt. I like to buy a little $1 greek yogurt container, you can use whatever you want depending on what cultures you want/like. After this batch is done, just scoop up some of your homemade to start the next batch. I can keep it going for a couple months, at least, making yogurt about every 6 – 8 days.
4. turn off your oven. it’s not 350 yet, you just want to take the chill off. turn ON your oven light. The light, believe it or not, will keep the oven at around 100 which is just right for yogurt. cover your milk mix with aluminum foil. put it in the oven with the light on and WALK AWAY. Do not open, jiggle stir, investigate. I usually do this after dinner or before bed or in the morning and leave it alone all day. Remember, this stuff was made in sacs hanging from camels traveling the desert; you can’t hurt it by going too long;) [The goal is about 100degrees. I did use my probe thermometer at first to make sure my oven would hold to this temp]
5. after about 10 hours, take the bowl out and admire all that whey floating on top. You did it!
6. That whey is full of calcium and has about 20% of the protein of the yogurt too (lots of debate on that, I went with what I found in dairy/yogurt textbooks). The bacteria ate all the carbs up, too and turned them into tangy goodness. You probably know all that already:) . If you want, stir the whey in and enjoy gloopy yogurt. I don’t like that so much:) I save the whey and use it for liquid in bread baking. you can use it in anything you bake, really, as a water substitute. So I strain it the EASY WAY. Line you handy dandy generic pasta colander with a flat cloth diaper–not the prefold kind with a thick middle, but the flat birdseye kind (or 2 layers of bounty paper towels, but the diaper is much easier, and cheese cloth? BIG MESS. skip it!). Put colander over a pot or bowl it will not sink down into (I use by 4c liquid measuring cup). Pour the yogurt into the colander and let it hang out and drip. I usually let 2-3 cups whey drain out, depending on how thick I want it. It takes less than an hour. To speed it up, add a cup of water to a quart ziplock and throw it on top. it won’t stick, and it will add weight to speed things along. Sometimes I run a rubber scraper along the diaper/paper towels liner to get the thick stuff off and keep things draining. If you want a sour cream or cream cheese substitute, stick it in the fridge and let 4 c drain (the max I’ve ever seen). When done draining, take the yogurt from the diaper and pour/scrape into a container for the fridge. This can feel awkward, but you’ll get the hang of it. most of it pours off, and the rest comes off the diaper quite nicely with a rubber scraper. stir and enjoy! mix in anything you want when you serve.

Using a good amount of culture added to some raw milk in a stove top kettle, I whisk it quickly to disperse yogurt then add remaining milk. Whisking, I quickly bring the temp upto about 110.

Jar & cap and set in oven. If the house is chilly (wintertime) I may turn the oven on once more to the lowest setting, then immediately off again. Leaving the oven light on helps, too. 6 to 8 hours should do. I don’t use a waterbath. I try to keep temps as low as possible to preserve the nutrients.

Remove slightly before the whey develops, while the side of the jar is still milky with a just barely discernable gel to the yogurt.

My son can eat yogurt but can’t handle drinking anything except raw milk so this would be a GREAT way to save money and take another step at being more self-sufficient.

Thanks for sharing. This is so interesting! We also do raw milk and I have been hesitant about making yoghurt with it. I don’t have a slow cooker… However I do have the slow cooking function on my oven. Any idea on how I would be doing this without a slow cooker? Any help would be appreciated.