coccodrillo

My hubby rarely had baked before a year or two ago. One day, he asked me why I like to bake. I told him I found it relaxing and that it also reminds me of my days working as a lab rat at my lab bench. Very similar work.

He then proceeded to bake something later that week and since then, he hasn't looked back. I now share my kitchen with him. Though I'm the main cook/baker in our house, he does spend much more time in there than he used too. I guess he experienced the same feeling.

He stumbled upon this recipe and wanted to try it out. Bread that is named after a crocodile, because it's crust resembles crocodile skin. Plus, it's made with beer. And what man doesn't like beer?



So, no quarms of sharing my kitchen if he continues to make delicious looking and tasting bread. However, we're still working out the details on his post cleaning-up skills. :)

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coccodrillo
makes 2 loaves

sponge
2.5 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup dark beer
3 cups water
1 cup whole wheat flour
2.5 cups all purpose flour

dough
3 cups all pupose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp salt

Whisk together all the sponge ingredients. Cover bowl and let stand overnight.

Take the sponge and put it into a stand mixer. Add all the dough ingredients and knead on low for about 8 minutes. Add more all purpose flour, if needed.

Remove the dough and roll into a ball and tranfer to a oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 2 hours.

Punch down dough. Remove from bowl and transfer to a flour dusted surface and form into a large loaf. Place the dough onto a prepared pan. Cover and let it rise for an hour.

Cut the dough into half and turn the cut edges up onto the prepared pan. Dust with all purpose flour. Bake breads for about 40 minutes at 400F, until browned. Turn off the oven and let the breads sit for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven onto wire racks and let cool.

Recipe adapted from: Coccodrillo, Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking