Stay tuned to this post. I am working on recipes to make Dr. Davis style probiotic dairy. It is not technically a yogurt, but is made using the same techniques. The main difference is the use of specified bacteria and a fermentation time of 36 hours which increases bacterial numbers to the twelfth power! Commercial yogurt is not comparable. I’ll update this post with exact recipes and techniques as soon as I have them dialed in.

I’ve talked about the benefits of fermented foods in the sauerkraut and kimchi sections. I’ve also warned about the raw components in milk that we don’t want to ingest. Fermented dairy is a different. The fermentation process reduces or eliminates the compounds we don’t want and adds in the beneficial compounds we do want. I’ve been experimenting with different types of bacteria and milk products and am not ready to post the winners just yet. I don’t have enough data yet to talk about some of the health claims but I can tell you this is the most delicious “yogurt” type food I have ever tasted. I won’t be buying much off the shelf yogurt anymore. As with all Dr. Dan recipes, until I have it in my normal food rotation I won’t post it.

Basic recipe:
I start with grass-fed half-and-half or heavy cream. I then mix in an L. reuteri or L. crispatus starter with two teaspoons to a tablespoon of inulin. Blend well, then top up the container with grass-fed whole fat cow’s milk. I usually place the container in the yoghurt maker before topping up. Repeat this process for the second bowl, then snap on the lids and add water. Fill it almost to the top — just shy of 3.5 cups in my machine. Place the cover on. Plug in the machine, set the temperature to 98°F (37°C) and set the timer for 36 hours. These are human strains of bacteria, so we want to use body temperature.
Pay attention to your start time because of its effect on the finish time. For example, if you start at 6 pm on Monday, the fermentation will finish at 6 am on Wednesday. We don’t want the fermentation to exceed 36 hours. Shorter fermentation times will work, but the bacteria count won’t be the same. The goal of a 36-hour fermentation is to double the bacteria 12 times, so that there are hundreds of billions!
Once finished, I prefer to strain it using a yoghurt strainer (Greek style). I like how thick and creamy it becomes. It’s delicious, and I’ve been eating it daily. I’m still working on the health claims and will have more to say on this later.