Coccodrillo

Rev 4.10 last revised:  28-Jan-10

Coccodrillo is the Italian word for “Crocodile!”  Coccodrillo is light, airy, crunchy, and has a distinctive speckled crust.  I've revised this recipe in order to both simplify it and make the loaf smaller.

Prep time:  About 20 hours

       Style:  Lean, high-hydration sourdough

       Yield:  1-medium loaf weighing about 1/2 a kilogram

Sponge, step-1, day 1 (the evening before):

Mix together the ingredients listed above to create your initial sponge.  This is best done by hand with a whisk.  Cover the bowl and allow to ferment for 8-12 hours at room temp or slightly warmer.

Sponge, step-2, day 2 (the next morning):

Dry mix the ingredients listed above, and add the sponge created in the previous step.  Whisk or mix with a mixer.  Let rise until frothy, foamy, and doubled (2-4 hours or so).

Dough:

I do my final rise in and bake into a COLD OVEN.  Bake at 450ºF (246ºC) for 30-35 min.  You may wish to apply your own methods.

Dry mix the last of the flour and the salt.  Add to the multi-stage sponge created previously.

Stretch & Fold:

Generously flour the work surface, and hands.  Pour/scrape the dough out of the mixing bowl onto the floured surface.  Sprinkle some flour over the top just so that it's not sticky when touched.  Fold in the top & bottom towards each other to achieve a rectangle of sorts.  Then, as in the Stretch & Fold technique, fold in the sides--three fold, like a letter--resulting in a rough square.  Turn 90º and allow to rest for 10-minutes.  Do the Stretch & Fold sequence at least 6 more times.  Use only as much flour as is necessary in order to be able to handle the dough.  Although you should handle it with some care, you can be surprisingly rough with it without consequence.  A few folds more or less aren't going to do much of anything either.  As you stretch, fold, and turn; you'll feel the dough begin to bulk up and begin to see blisters.

Shaping and the Final Rise:

Here, traditionally, the boule is cut lengthwise and split into two loaves (depends on how much you've made--or what result you want)--I prefer 4, even, smaller loaves.  Gently place the boule, cut side up, on a piece of well-floured parchment on a baking sheet stretching it as needed for shaping.  Allow to rise until at least double or even triple.  The amount of time for this will vary with your culture, flour, and temperature (and patience!).  This is usually about 3-hours for me; but can be anywhere from 2-5 hours.  I put the rising boule in a cold oven (that way it's out of the way and ready for the final act).

Baking:

Set oven to 450F and turn it ON, bake at 450ºF (246ºC) for 30-35 min.  You can use a stone, or not.  I now use a "Silpat" mat, but used to use a plain, thin, metal sheet w/parchment.  You can mist or add water if you like--or not.  I've done both and like both.  Dry gives it a thinner more crackly crust; wet makes it thicker and chewier (my favorite).  Allow to cool on a rack before cutting.

Enjoy!

The Stretch 'n' Fold Cycle:

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and, using your bench knife to slide underneath, roll the dough in the flour until it no longer sticks and form it into a rough square.  Grasp 2-opposing sides of the dough and stretch it to an oblong with sides in the ratio 3:1.  Fold the dough in 3, like a letter, which will give you a rough square.  Turn through 90 degrees and leave to rest for 10 minutes.  Repeat as specified.

Notes:

[NB:  The pursuit of sourdough is my passion.  Consequently I have converted this recipe to eschew commercial bakers yeasts, using instead only its wilder cousins. -- D.]

[NB:  The budding baker is forewarned that this is not a simple recipe suited for a beginner (that would of course leave me out as well--but I'm a glutton for punishment!).  Making it almost certainly requires the use of a capable mixer, as some of the mixing sequences are rather long and arduous.  It takes at least two days to make this bread at the professional bakeries that regularly make it.  Although the time span is long, the actual work time can be measured in minutes (even if you include the mixer’s minutes.)  For even better flavor, the building process can be extended into 3-days.  This may seem like long time, except that the actual working time of the first two days is probably less than 10 minutes.  Before you start, it is strongly advised that you READ THROUGH AND STUDY THE ENTIRE RECIPE! - D.]

Changes:

V4.10    Removed the "~85F" temp for the initial ferment.

V4.03    Corrected a mass error for 3/4 cup of water spotted by a sharp-eyed baker, as well as a few minor clarifications.

V4.00    Revised and re-released

V3.60    Simplified the recipe to drop the long, arduous mixing sequence in favor of S&F or F&F.

V3.50    Increased the water content by 1/4-cup and moved the Durum flour to stage two

V3.00    Simplified the recipe, reduced the quantity to make smaller loaves, and reduced baking temp to 450F

V2.03    increased the flour in the final dough by 3/4 cup

V2.00    reformatted for single-page reference

V1.07    Minor text changes for clarity

V1.06    Annotated salt holdout

V1.05    Added flour for S&F use, and minor cleanup...

V1.03    Reduced salt by 1/2 to 2 tsp.

V1.02    Restored the preferment temperature back to 85F

V1.01    Changed the preferment temp to RT (Room Temp).

V1.00    Released from V0.65

I found the original version of this recipe on alt.bread.recipes.  It was said to be an adaptation from Carol Fields' cookbook; “The Italian Baker."  I removed the references to commercial baking yeasts, changed the sponge method and timing--simplifying it considerably, and added a cold oven start as well.  About the only thing that remains of the original recipe is the name and the use of Durum flour.  And, since I was unable to find "Durum flour", I use Semolina flour--which is made from Durum Wheat.  The results were great!  So I've been using it and haven't looked back.

Enjoy!