1 1/2cupsred bell pepperseeded, de-ribbed and chopped
1cupcelerychopped
4chile peppersseeded, de-ribbed and finely chopped
2-4dried ancho peppersstemmed and seeded
3garlic clovesminced
8black peppercorns
1 1/4cupbrown sugarfirmly packed
1cupred wine vinegar
1/2cupbarley malt syrup or dark corn syrup
2tspkosher salt
2tspdry mustard
1tsptabasco-style sauce
1/2tspground ancho or red chile pepper
Instructions
Prepare canner, lids, and seven 8-oz jars according to the usual method keep jars hot until needed.
Toast the dried chiles in a skillet, pressing down gently to flatten and soften, just until they become pliable and fragrant.
Combine the tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, celery, fresh chiles, toasted dried chiles, and garlic in a large, wide Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the tomatoes broken down, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat.
Press the mixture through a food mill or a sieve — don’t use a blender or food processor here, because you don’t want to introduce air into the mixture. Return the sauce to the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced by half and will mound up gently on a spoon, about 45 minutes to an hour.
Tie the peppercorns in a spice bag or tea infusion ball, and add to the mixture in the pan. Add the brown sugar, wine vinegar, malt syrup, salt, paprika, mustard, hot sauce, and ground red chile to the tomato mixture, stirring well after each addition. Simmer gently for 1-1/2 hours, or until the mixture is the consistency of ketchup. You will need to stir more frequently as the sauce thickens, to prevent scorching. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the spice bag. Taste and add additional ground red chile if desired.
Using a stainless-steel canning funnel, ladle the sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles using a plastic knife or chopstick, and readjust headspace as needed. Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth and center the hot lids on jars. Screw band to fingertip-tight.
Place jars in water canner, ensuring they are completely submerged. Bring to a boil and process covered for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid; wait 5 minutes, then remove jars. Cool, check seals before storing in a cool, dark place. Can be stored for up to a year.
I’ve been making my own yogurt for a few years now and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store bought yogurt. Not only does it save me money, but homemade yogurt is seriously good.
The method I’ve adopted is very basic — no special heirloom yogurt cultures or fancy incubating equipment required. You could even make a batch today and have homemade yogurt tomorrow morning!
What Do You Need to Make Yogurt?
All you need to make homemade yogurt is a half gallon of milk and about a half cup of yogurt. Whole or 2% milk will make the thickest, creamiest yogurt, but you can also use skim milk if you like. For the yogurt, either Greek or regular yogurt is fine, but avoid any flavorings; stick to plain, unflavored yogurts.
When you’re buying yogurt, also check that it lists “Live Active Yogurt Cultures” in the ingredients — we need those! The live cultures are what actually turn the milk into yogurt. The number of cultures doesn’t really matter; as long as there is at least one, you can make yogurt. This said, different strains of bacteria have different health benefits, so I personally look for the yogurt with the most number of cultures listed. Some common ones are L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casei.
What Equipment Do You Need?
All you need to make yogurt is a heavy pot with a lid.
You can certainly use a dehydrator if you have one — these are great for holding the yogurt at a very steady temperature as it incubates — but you can make great yogurt without them. Crock pots and ovens also work fine and so does an instant pot with yogurt setting.
Key is low heat – no higher than 100 degrees and slow incubation period. Min 8 hours – max 24 hours.
Personally I use a yogurt maker. I have Euro Cuisine® Automatic Yogurt Maker. I like this brand because I can make individual jars of yogurt. The jars are baby food sized. Perfect for a single serving. I purchased an GY4 EXPANSION TRAY which allows me to make up to 14 jars.
I think if I was in the market for another yogurt maker, I’d probably get a Luvele brand.
Homemade Yogurt
Making your own yogurt is easy – just follow these simple steps
Yogurt can be made in a heavy dutch oven, a yogurt maker, a instant pot with yogurt setting, in a slow cooker or in the oven
thermometer
Ingredients
5cupsmilkI prefer whole milk but any milk will do even plant based milks like coconut or almond
3ouncesPlain greek yogurtmust have active cultures for yogurt to set up
Optional ingredients
3tbsphoney or aqave syrup
1tspvanilla extract
Instructions
Put milk in a large sauce pan and slowly heat to 180 degrees. (see note below on pasteurizing the milk for longer period of time).
Remove milk from heat and allow milk to cool down to 110 degrees.
Add yogurt into milk and stir. Add optional ingredients.
Stir then pour yogurt solution into jars, glass bowl etc.
Optional
I add a spoonful of preserves to each jar, or when in season a few ripe black berries.
Plug in the yogurt maker and walk away for minimum of 8 hours (see note below on extending the incubation time). Remove jars from maker, put on the lids and store in the fridge.
Make Thicker Yogurt To make yogurt thicker here are a few tricks to try:
Add 1/3 c whole milk powder per 1 liter of milk before pasteurizing milk. This increases the volume of milk solid proteins and results in an enriched and thicker yogurt
When pasteurizing milk – keep milk at optimal 180 degree for 20 or longer. Heating denatures the milk proteins so they set together rather than forming curds. Also the little bit of evaporation that occurs during this extended heating process contributes to the thickening process.
Put some water in the yogrt maker to steam. Water allows for accurate and even temperature during the incubation process.
Incubate yogurt for 24 hours. Longer incubation period reduces the lactose or natural sugars found in milk and increases the healthy population of live bacteria. When consumed help to correct the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut. Longer incubation also increases the nutritional profile of any milk used including plant based milks.
Notes
Result after pasteurizing milk at 180 degrees for 20 minutes followed by incubating the yogurt for 24 hours in water bath. Yogurt turned out thick through out the jar with creamy texture and subtle tanginess. I added the strawberry preserves after incubation. This will become my goto method for making yogurt.
In a large bowl combine warm water, yeast and sweetner. Let sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
For Conventional Mixer
Add oil, salt and flour – half a cup at a time until dough begins pulling from sides.
Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Knead by hand adding small amounts of flour as needed until dough is still moist and slightly sticky
Place dough in greased bowl – allow to rise until double.
Häussler Alpha Mixer
Add oil, salt and 8 cups flour. Set mixer speed to 1 – set timer to 2. Mix dough at 2 minutes intervals, adding flours as needed until dough is moist, slightly sticky and passes the window pane test.
Transfer dough to lightly greased surface, perform a couple stretch and pulls. Form dough into ball and return to mixing bowl. Let rise till double – 1.5 to 2 hrs.
After proofing instruction
Divide dough into 3 pieces and form each into loaf. Place in greased bread pans.
Continue to knead on speed 3 until the dough is springy and firm, about 4 minutes. It will still feel slightly sticky but won't stick to your hands.If kneading by hand knead for 15 minutes, or until dough feels firm and springy but still slightly sticky. The dough should spring back when gently poked with your finger.
Oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it once to make sure that it is oiled. Cover with a clean tea towel.Place in a proofing oven or warm spot until doubled (about 1 ½ hours)
Punch down the dough.Knead gently for a minute or two and then divide it in half.Form each half into a loaf and then fit the loaves into greased 9×5 inch bread pans.
Cover with the clean tea towel.Let rise about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F.Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
