sticky dough

Hello

I think this is my first post but I am an avid reader so thanks for all the information and indirect help.

Yesterday I made All Purpose Holiday Bread from Crust & Crumb p126. It was like trying to make Choux pastry without a pan! Its hard to describe the consistency and could not decide if it was not too wet or too dry. The mix was very stringy and no matter what I tried it just stuck to everything. Second kneading was on an oiled surface with oiled hands but that didn’t help and it stuck to the oiled cling film for final rise and I am still scrubbing my non stick loaf tins which I buttered.

The final product was/is superb I love it. I soaked the fruit in Triple Sec Orange liqueur and added some walnuts and dates but after second rise. The recipe says to add the fruit at first mix but as I was unable to let go of the dough I decided to wait.

Anyone else had any experience with this recipe?

Is there a technique for handling dough as sticky as this or did I do something wrong? The only thing I can think of is it may have been too hot in the kitchen as I had the Heritage stove fired up – its like an Aga only more frugal – and had the ingredients out prior to mixing on the shelf above.

I am curious about the amount of eggs. Five are called for and just wondered if using less would still produce a good loaf. I made the River Cottage Christmas Bread last week, it uses one egg, but it was too heavy for me although my wife said she liked it. I could tell from the start that the yeast was not working properly so maybe I will try the RC recipe again but using a starter as yesterdays mix used the same yeast with good results. I had intended to try some Hirondelle yeast but forget to get it out of the deep freeze in time.

By way of a ps I have just re read the recipe and it does say add extra flour if too sticky.

Hey ho when all else fails read the instructions but I am not keen on the idea of adding extra flour.

Happy New Year all.