Why is my dough so sticky?
Hi folks, I'm a first-time poster to this forum. I'm new to bread making. I got my start with a "no knead" recipe that was published in the New York Times, then decided to get more serious and bought Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast book. All the recipes I've tried so far are made with dry yeast and baked in a Dutch oven.
My frustration time and again is that my dough is so sticky it is very hard to shape into a ball. This is even though 1) I measure all the ingredients exactly by weight, 2) and am within 1-2º F of the recommended water temperature and room temperature. The recipe that I made twice is called "overnight white bread":
1000 g white flour, 780 g water, 22 g salt, .8 g yeast
I know this is a high hydration recipe. I've watched Ken's videos over and over on YouTube and his dough looks tighter and drier than mine (wish I had a photo to attach).
Initially I thought it was because I was using Pillsbury AP flour and he recommends a lower protein content flour. So I got my hands on this 11.5% protein flour (https://centralmilling.com/product/organic-artisan-bakers-craft/ [1]). Not noticeably different.
I dusted my banneton and countertop with a mixture of 1/2 rice flour and 1/2 AP flour. And by sticky, I mean: it sticks to a dusted countertop, and taking it out of the banneton is like removing gum off my shoe (okay, maybe not that bad).
Obviously this recipe is supposed to work under the right conditions. So my question is, what factors are out of whack for me? Am I letting the bulk fermentation go too long or not long enough? Does the quality of the yeast matter?
Thanks in advance!