How to make a batch of whole milk kefir with conventional whole milk yeast brands. It’s cheaper than live grain kefir, but much more powerful than commercial brands because you have to let it ferment for 36 hours. Sarah has been a health and nutrition consultant since 2002, helping families effectively incorporate traditional food principles into the modern home. After you’ve made your first batch of kefir, save some to use as yeast for new batches. In this case, I suggest using store-bought kefir as a simple inoculant to make a beginning batch of kefir. Consuming a cup or two of homemade whole milk kefir is a great strategy for maintaining a healthy gut. Live-grain kefir is usually ready in as little as 24 hours. Mix whole milk and commercial kefir in a quart jar. Kefir made this way contains about as many probiotic strains as baking powder kefir. Making kefir is much easier than other types of cultured milk because you can just leave it on the counter. You can try it at no extra cost and compare the benefits of kefir to yogurt. Their mission is to help families effectively incorporate the principles of ancient nutrition into the modern home. Kefir stays fresh for several weeks before consumption.