Workflow
Buy ingredients and prepare tools
Milk
For a rich, solid texture, buy 50% milk and 50% cream. If you want to lose weight, you can also use low-fat milk. You can also use coconut milk or even hummus.
Buy local or organic!
Bacteria strains
There is an extensive amount of information on different types of bacteria and their effects. For a quick introduction, feel free to skip to section Prepare starter culture for details.
Strains:
Reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 & DSM 17938, good for skin, Biogaia Gastrus, ferments at 37°C
Coagulans GBI-30,6086, good for muscle regeneration, ferments at 50°C
Plantarum, good for bloating, 26°-37°C
Gasseri BNR17, apparently weight loss, ferments at 42°C
Streptococcus salivarius K12 & M18, good for immune system and gum health
Sugar Shift and Simple Slumber from Biotiquest: https://biotiquest.com/ . In the SuperGut yogurt nerd community, Biotiquest is a favorite - Martha, who runs the company is starting to get super-star status.
Synbiotic 365: https://naturemd.com/products/biotic-nmd/ Also a SuperGut yoga nerd favorite, less so than Biotiquest, but people love it. Slightly sour, but seems to give me a lot of energy and require less sleep.
L. Rhamnosus GG.
Starch
You will also need potato starch or other prebiotic fiber like tapioca flour or inulin. This will feed the bacteria.
Rice flour is not a source of prebiotic fiber, you need soluble fiber or resistant starch, or polyphenols.
Jars, containers and yogurt makers
You can use a standard store-bought yogurt maker or alternatively a basin with water and a sous vide device.
Prepare starter culture
There are different starter cultures with different properties that need different amounts.
Strains
L. Reuteri
Benefits overall health and longevity. Ferments at 37°C
L. Gasseri
Speeds up fat loss. Ferments at 42°C
L. Coagulans
Reduces inflammation and speeds up recovery. Ferments at 50°C
Recipe
Mix the powders first before introducing them to the milk.
2 billion CFU in capsules or crushed tablets (or 2 tbsp of yogurt)
2 Tbsp of potato starch (or inulin)
1 liter of milk (see next step)
You can also start with an existing yogurt starter from a previous batch. Apparently, the effect is reduced after about 4 batches.
Mix substrate with starter
Add the capsules to the starch:
Optional: Heat up the milk
Heat milk to 80°C for 20min before incubating, to ensure a thicker texture of the yogurt and create a favorable growth environment. Let it cool down to room temperature before mixing, too hot milk will produce more whey.
Add everything to a yogurt maker, jar or container(s). Make sure that the temperature of the milk is the same as the yogurt starter in case you are using whey from an existing batch.
Start fermentation
Set the correct temperature for a starter (see above) and set the timer to 36 hours.
Ferment the yogurt for 18-24h, check when whey starts separating separates, then take out and strain. You can also ferment it longer, as it will become thicker and more cheese-like. More details here: https://www.urbanfermentation.com/what-happens-when-yogurt-is-incubated-too-long/
Strain yogurt
To strain the yogurt, reduce the amount of carbohydrates and make it thicker, carefully pour the yogurt into a cheesecloth. Let it sit in the fridge and drip out.
You can keep the whey for other ferments, soups, salads etc. Or throw it out.
Store
Store the yogurt in a cool place like the fridge but don't freeze it. Freezing will kill the bacteria.
Last updated
