If you wanna help, promote your healthy gut and do it on a budget making homemade yogurt does the trick! 
I started this practice years ago, life happens, and I started buying store-bought yogurt. When I couldn’t keep up with that, kids, homeschool, doctor’s appointments, and work, I just stopped buying it all together!
But I always come back to it because not only is the yogurt deliciously homemade but it helps you keep a healthy gut! 
At first, I used powdered milk to make my yogurt. I found some mom from Nigeria who claims she made it this way. But, perhaps she has different powdered milk than mine because all I got was thin yogurt milk. So, I tried to thicken it with more milk powder, and the end result was a thick cream that has yogurt cultures in it! Sigh!
Next, I tried 2% shelf-stable milk, which is the yogurt you see here. While I prefer full-fat milk, especially to make yogurt, it will do in a pinch .
This is a SUPER EASY recipe and while it may take about thirty minutes to start the yogurt making. Successful yogurt is all about the heating and cooling of the milk to the proper temperature. The temperature of your milk is key to making yogurt.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
One thing that I know after making hundreds of batches of yogurt is that both the fat content of your milk, and the quality of your starter make a big difference.
I typically use full fat milk to make my yogurt, because the fat content helps your yogurt bloom once you add the starter.
I have also noticed that some of the milk companies selling milk add in thickeners in the lower fat milks. How do I know this? Well, when you heat the milk to a near boil and run a spoon through it, pulling up gelatanous blobs, you know they thickened it…
Secondly, for similar reasons, you should use a yogurt starter that is as full fat or all natural as possible. This way, your yogurt properly sets.
You can pick up a single serving of plain yogurt at the grocery store to use as a starter. 16 ounce starter container makes half a gallon of yogurt. 
You might also want to try using yogurt starters that come in a dry powder. Check some of them out on Amazon. Some of them contain specialized bacteria to help you create different yogurt, textures. 
The Science Behind Yogurt Making
In short, yogurt making occurs when you add the good bacteria (as opposed to bad) to heated milk and create a healthy ferment.
Heating the milk to a high heat (but not boiling) initially kills any bad bacteria in the milk before adding the yogurt culture.
What you are doing is turning the milk sugar into lactic acid. Commonly, bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus create a healthy yogurt.
As you’ll see with some of the powdered starters, there are other bacteria that create delicious tasting yogurt as well.
In short, when the lactic acid lowers in the milk, the proteins in the milk coagulate into what we know as yogurt.
Homemade Yogurt Recipe
In order to make homemade yogurt, you need:
- 2-4 quart saucepan,
- A yogurt thermometer (You can buy one here.)
- Sturdy glassware storage container,
- Milk of your choice (I usually start with half a gallon, but you can make it a quart as well.)
- A starter culture or a small container of yogurt relative to the amount of milk you were using 
**Pro Tip: since traveling on the road may not always lend itself to using your propane stove, you can also use an Instapot for easy yogurt making. Follow the directions for your pot to make yogurt. I have done this successfully and simply let the yogurt sit in the Instapot overnight. It works great!
To start, simply pour the milk directly into a saucepan. I have used as much as a half-gallon or as little as one quart. Choose the amount of yogurt you want, based on your family’s yogurt eating capacity. 😉
Heat the milk slowly over medium heat until it reaches 180 degrees. This kills off any bad bacteria and helps your yogurt ferment. Try not to boil the milk, but if you do, never fear, it will still make yogurt.
Pull the yogurt off of the heat and cool until the temperature reaches about 110 degrees. Occasionally stir and check the milk temperature.
Pro Tip: If you do not have a thermometer, you can heat the milk to near boiling, pull it from the heat, and cool it until you can stick your finger in the milk comfortably. If the milk is still very warm, but not hot, you can add your yogurt starter and set it overnight.
At this point, scoop out some of the milk from your pan to a glassware container (about a cup) and stir in the yogurt culture. Slowly pour in the remaining milk and stir.
Then pour the mixture back into the warm milk and stir it into the liquid .
Cover the milk and wrap your container in a towels. I even like to stick mine in a warm oven. You can also just place the container without the towel in the oven, with the oven turned off. Leave it overnight like that and let it set.
When you wake up in the morning, pull out your container and your homemade yogurt is made!
If you want to make “Greek” yogurt, just let it sit for about 24 hours. There is no need to add extra heat or anything, just let it sit.
I have made homemade yogurt this way in the dead of winter and in the heat of summer all with great success.
