Problems in shaping and final proof - Ken Forkish recipe
Hi all,
I'm relatively new to bread baking - been baking my own for about 18 months, was using just Bittman/Lahey no-knead type recipes for the first year or so and now working my way through the Ken Forkish book and accompanying videos. Having some trouble today with the 75% whole wheat 'Saturday' bread (yes, I know it's Monday). The autolyse and initial mix went fine, and it built up what felt like a nice gluten structure (for whole grains, that is) after the three stretches-and-fold, and rose normally during the bulk fermentation.
Then I tipped it out onto my bench to shape, and things went downhill. Got it into its boule shape, but had some sticking on the board when I went to shift into the proving basket. As a consequence I think it partly tore. I should add that I have unusually small hands - to the point where I cannot hold and work a full-size chef's knife or grip a football - and therefore really struggle with scooping the boule up and shifting it.
It is now proving, and seems to be rising/growing again while doing so, but it also looks stickier than it did before the bulk fermentation, with little bubbles across the top, and no sign of passing the indentation test. Afraid to move it out of the proving dish and do more damage, not sure if it will over-rise/overproof if left as is, but doesn't look proven enough to bake. [Edited here to give better description of problem.]
I know there are many threads about this recipe on here, but I can't find anyone with this exact issue, so grateful for any advice, for this loaf, or my general small-handed problems with this kind of baking.
-PmP