Updated Yogurt Recipe

Someone recently asked for the recipe I use to make my Greek yogurt, so I thought I would type it up to share with everyone. I orginally followed a tutorial found {here}, but I've changed a few things since first making it.

 I like to use a thermometer to get the yogurt to the right temperatures and like to strain the yogurt after letting it sit overnight to make it thicker like Greek yogurt. It turns out nice and thick and tangy. So, here is my recipe.

Homemade Greek Yogurt
1/2 gallon of milk (I've used whole or 2%)
6-8 oz container of plain yogurt (I like to use the Dannon Greek Yogurt)

Set out your starter yogurt so that it can get to room temperature.
Heat the milk in a large pot until it doesn't quite boil and starts to get a little frothy (if you have a thermometer, heat it to 185 degrees).
Remove from heat & let cool until you can hold your finger in it for 10 seconds without screaming (about 110 degrees, definitely not above 120 degrees, but not cooler than 110).
Stir, or whisk, the starter yogurt into the milk. Pour into a bowl or pot that has a lid, or canning jars. Put on the lid(s) and wrap in towels (or you can use a wonderbox, which is what I do. I've also seen recipes that use a crock pot, or just a sunny window. You just want to keep the yogurt warm, around 100 degrees).
Let sit overnight. You want to leave it at least 7 hours, but the longer you leave it, the thicker it will get. After it sits overnight, I like to strain it a little bit to make it thicker like the greek yogurt. Line a colander with cheese cloth & pour in the thickened yogurt. You can place a bowl underneath and put it all in the fridge. I just left mine in the sink. Let strain for up to two hours for very thick yogurt. I've also started hanging the yogurt filled cheese cloth, by just grabbing each corner & using a clothes pin to pin it the side of my dish drainer at the edge of my sink.
I love to eat it with honey drizzled over the top. If I'm sharing with my baby, I omit the honey & use sugar & vanilla instead, since babies shouldn't have honey. I love to add fresh fruit, or a swirl of jam, and some granola. I usually do this by the bowl, not to the whole batch at once. Be creative. The unsweetened yogurt can also be used like sour cream. I've used it in burritos, potato salad & to top enchiladas.
Be sure to give it a stir each time you take it out of the fridge, just in case more liquid has separated. Also, be sure to save about a cup of it to use as a starter for your next batch. Enjoy!

For my last few batches, I've used an entire gallon of milk & just the same size container of plain yogurt as starter & it has done just fine. It makes 2 quarts of yogurt, which makes it so that I don't have to make yogurt quite as often. We really like it, so it still tends to go pretty quickly! I also no longer put a paper towel on the yogurt when I put it in the fridge. Straining it in the cheesecloth gets enough of the extra whey out that the paper towel just isn't necessary. I have noticed that after straining, the yogurt gets a little thicker after sitting in the fridge.