No knead bread: shaping, very sticky dough
Hi everyone,
This is my first post. I've also been baking bread for a total of three days, so I'm sure this is a very basic question. Bear with me :)
I've been making "no knead" bread using Jim Lahey's recipe (both the basic recipe and rye bread). Overall I've been loving it but I've been having a difficult time shaping the dough properly. I've been trying to make a boule, but the dough is so sticky that I find it is hard to pick it up cleanly, let alone shape it into anything resembling a ball :) Frankly it can be a challenge getting the dough into the dutch oven in one piece, let alone shaped the way I'd like it.
I've tried shaping both before the second rise and afterward. It seems a bit easier before the second rise, but the dough seems to lose most of its shape during the second rise, which seems to defeat the purpose. I've been doing the second rise on a sheet of parchment paper, loosely covering the dough with plastic wrap.
Any and all advice welcome. Is it normal that the dough is VERY sticky? Should I try longer/shorter rising times, or use more/less water? Looking at YouTube videos of people shaping dough, it seems as though their dough is typically easier to work with, but maybe they just know what they are doing :)
Thanks!