How to Make Yogurt - Maureen Abood (2024)

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Here is a simple recipe for how to make yogurt succesfully. This homemade yogurt requires just two ingredients and no special equipment.

Ready to make your own yogurt at home?! It couldn’t be simpler. There are great reasons to make your own yogurt–it’s economical, and also: so much more flavorful than commercial yogurts. No special equipment is necessary such as a yogurt maker or slow cooker. Your own pot works perfectly.

Yogurt, or Lebanese laban, is a tradition we cherish. Use yogurt on its own with honey or fruit, as well as in soups, baking, salads, dips, and much more. Here are the basics.

Just two Ingredients for homemade yogurt:

1. Milk.

I always use organic milk, because anything I eat that much of, I like it to be as clean as possible. This homemade yogurt recipe can be made with skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk. Of course, whole milk is the best in terms of flavor and texture. I’ve even been known to take a page out of Aunt Hilda’s playbook and poured in a pint of heavy cream with my milk. Good Lord, that’s like the wedding gown of all laban—some seriously thick and creamy, luscious, special-occasion loveliness.

Sometimes I make yogurt using a whole gallon of milk, especially if I’m draining it for thick labneh. That draining process reduces the quantity substantially! But I especially enjoy smaller-batch. Read about my laban-making foibleshere.

2. The Starter.

Yogurt is made like sourdough, with a starter—called “rawbi” in Arabic—from your last batch. If you have no last batch, use plain yogurt with live yogurt cultures from the store. Much of your yogurt-making success depends upon the starter. If you do buy commercial yogurt as a starter, be sure it’s plain (not vanilla). I generally use a whole milk (not non-fat) starter, even if I’m making a low-fat yogurt with low-fat milk. Thick labneh (labna or labne) or plain Greek yogurt with a thicker texture can work for the starter, but I’ve experienced failures with that so I tend to stick with regular, plain unstrained (thinner) yogurt.

The starter should be at room temperature when it’s stirred into the milk, so let it sit out for a while before you make your yogurt, or warm it in the microwave for a few seconds. You’ll “temper” the starter (bring it to a similar temperature as the milk) with a little warm milk from the pot as well.

Also: don’t use much starter! That may not feel intuitive–seems like “more” should equal “better.” But you need just a couple of tablespoons (up to 1/4 cup) for a half-gallon to a gallon of milk.

It may be lore, but the less I stir the starter into my heated-then-cooled-to-110°F milk, the smoother, glossier the resulting yogurt. So I just give the starter a quick stir into the milk and leave it at that.

Some recipes include milk powder with the milk from the start of the recipe, as a way to create a thicker end result. I have tested this but don’t find much difference using it.

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

The steps for making yogurt are very few and very simple, but there are special tips and tricks to keep in mind with each step:

1. In a large, heavy-bottom pot, bring the milk just to a boil (or 210 degrees F) OVER MEDIUM-LOW HEAT. The low heat takes longer to get to a boil, but this low-and-slow method helps prevent the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan. Milk burns easily! If your milk is room temperature rather than cold straight from the refrigerator, the heat time will be much shorter.
   
2. Once the milk foams up to a boil, remove it from the heat immediately. Take care here! Milk will boil over quickly once it reaches the boiling point. Stand by, and as you see the milk rise, pull the pot off the heat. Now allow the milk to cool down to 110-115 degrees F. Use a thermometer or the pinkie test like Sitto taught me: when you can just barely run your pinkie through the milk to the count of ten without pulling it out from the heat, you’re there.
   
3. Add the starter. I like to temper the starter by spooning a little of the warmed milk into it just before adding it to the pot. Just give the pot of milk with the starter a quick stir, cover the pot with the lid, and place in a warm spot to rest and incubate for 8 hours. Jiggle the pot to see if the yogurt has solidified at this point. If yes, you’ve done it! You’ve made yogurt! If the yogurt is still liquid, put the lid on the pot and allow it to incubate for another 4-8 hours.

How to get great flavor in homemade yogurt.

Yogurt is made with such simplicity, and so few ingredients, that it is going to taste only as good as your ingredients. The Lebanese enjoy their yogurt with a certain tang, a certain depth of fermented flavor that is unlike the typical sweetened or even unsweetened plain commercial yogurt. Commercial Greek yogurts sometimes capture this flavor, but truly not quite.

When my homemade yogurt lacks depth of flavor, I add lemon juice to the starter (just a squeeze), then salt it a bit and leave it out on the counter for the day. This allows the starter yogurt to ferment. Taste your starter and know that this will be the finished flavor of your homemade yogurt. If when I taste my finished yogurt the flavor is lackluster, I add lemon juice for more tang, as needed, and salt.

Ideally, the key is to find a starter that has better flavor. Get a few tablespoons from a friend who makes great homemade yogurt. The Lebanese have been sharing starters with each other forever! Our neighborly expression is not “can I borrow a cup of sugar,” but rather: “can I borrow a cup of starter?!”

Another option is to purchase good tasting yogurt at a Middle Eastern market. Often these places make their own yogurt with that complex flavor we love.

Authentic Lebanese laban is often made with goat’s milk, which is super flavorful, rich, and good!

See how it’s done! Watch my video tutorial.

Favorite Recipes with Yogurt

Koosa in Yogurt Sauce is a traditional stuffed squash that is poached in yogurt broth.

Kibbeh in Yogurt Sauce is similar to kousa in yogurt but uses shaped kibbeh balls rather than stuffed squash, in the yogurt broth with lots of mint and garlic.

Yogurt Cucumber Salad with Mint is a cool, refreshing salad that pairs with many main dishes.

Lebanese Sfouf Cake is a favorite Lebanese cake with anise flavor and a moist crumb because of the yogurt in the batter.

Baking with Yogurt is a great way to impart tenderness and moisture to baked goods, even with my Pita Bread Recipe.

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