http://warreneckstein.com/n-whatwarren.html
He's a pet psychologist :-)
Many dogs take well to crate training and are left there while their owners are at work; however, 11 hours sounds awfully long to me (but then my dogs are spoiled brats).
FYI, I have a springer who is a nervous wreck in a crate, pants and droools and digs at it with his front paws, so we completely abandoned it for him. Just wanted you to know, before you invest in crates, there is a possibility it won't work.
Since there are two dogs and they are accustomed to being together, I don't think you'll have to worry about them being too lonely. They will rely on each other for company but will still act like it's the second coming of Christ when you arrive home. ;)
Two ideas you might want to consider: (1) finding someone to stop in mid-day to let them outside or to walk them; (2) fencing a portion of your yard and providing access to it via a pet door.