I don’t know whether it’s the yeast part or the kneading, but something about making bread from scratch has always seemed way out of my capabilities. (Hence the reason why I never make my own breads.) So my Christmas present from my husband, Drew, this year was for me to go to a cooking class called “Just Breads.”
The class was phenomenal. We made breadsticks, foccacia, pita…. Basically, if it had carbohydrates and yeast, we made it. In fact, the class was sooo great that it totally helped me to get over my fear of bread making.
To show off my new skills, I whipped up a batch of cinnamon raisin bagels this week for Drew to take to work for breakfast. They came out fantastic. After saying “thank you,” Drew’s immediate question was “What should I top these with?”
Now it’s common knowledge that one cannot properly enjoy a cinnamon raisin bagel without really great cream cheese. But after spending so long in the kitchen making the bagels I could hardly justify buying a tub of it from the store.
I decided I would make my own “cream cheese” with yogurt. I’ve always wanted to make yogurt cheese, and this was my chance. Let me tell you, it was soooo easy and absolutely delicious. I’ll never buy cream cheese again.
To make your own yogurt cheese, all you need is:
- 16oz of Chobani Greek Yogurt (You can use plain if you want a savory cheese or flavored if you want a sweeter cheese.)
- A cheese cloth OR paper towels, a pot and a mesh strainer. (I used the latter.)
To make the yogurt cheese:
1. Place the strainer over a pot. Line 3 layers of paper towels in the strainer and add the yogurt.
2. Cover the yogurt completely with the paper towels so that no yogurt is exposed.
3. Place this, including the pot, in the refrigerator, and let the yogurt strain for 24 hours.
4. When it’s time, remove the paper towel-wrapped yogurt cheese (it should be firm) from the strainer. You can discard the liquid that’s fallen into the pot.
5. Unwrap it, place in a bowl, and serve.
NOTE: You can add herbs, nuts, sugar…really anything you want to the cheese. I added walnuts and black pepper, and it was fantastic.
Happy eating, and let me know what ingredients you add to your yogurt cheese!