If you're unsure about how to achieve that perfect, creamy yogurt at home and find that the yogurt you make turns out either too sour or too runny, we're here to share the foolproof method and recipe for achieving the ideal texture and flavor.

Here's how to ferment yogurt and what key points to keep in mind, so you too can make top-notch yogurt at home.

For yogurt fermentation, it's best to use raw milk. Pasteurized packaged milk can also work, but it won't be as rich and beneficial. This is because the milk used for packaged yogurt has been pasteurized, which means it's quickly heated and cooled before being packaged. Yogurt made from raw milk tends to be creamy and indulgent.

To make yogurt at home, start by heating approximately 3 to 5 liters of milk. Once it reaches a thorough boil, remove it from the heat and let it cool on its own. The ideal temperature for fermentation is around 43 or 44 degrees Celsius. If you don't have a thermometer to measure this, you can use the "7-second finger test". Dip your finger into the milk; if you can hold it there for 7 seconds comfortably, then the milk has reached the right temperature.

After the milk has cooled to the ideal temperature, add about 1 tablespoon of leftover yogurt (as a starter culture) and optionally, half a teaspoon of sugar for fermentation. 

Now, here's the crucial step in yogurt fermentation. Invert a perforated sieve or a pasta strainer and place it over the container instead of using a lid. Then, cover the container with a cloth and let it ferment overnight. By morning, you'll have perfectly set yogurt. For a thicker consistency, leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for an additional two hours.

To achieve a mold-like yogurt, it's crucial for the excess steam inside the cooking vessel to escape. Using a perforated sieve during fermentation helps in letting this excess steam evaporate. Wrapping it with a cloth also helps maintain the necessary temperature for fermentation.

For those who want to watch the process, there's a video tutorial for making stone-like yogurt provided below.