Cheers, that's the conclusion I was slowly reaching but you saved me a couple more loafs of frustration. Dropped hydration and have a far more workable dough now, high hopes for a non cow pat tomorrow.
Kept its shape far better than the previous ones, not as much oven spring though. I think I'll use a bit more starter and do a longer retard as Chad Robertson probably didn't account for the frigid 19 degrees celsius we call room temperature.
Cheers, that's the conclusion I was slowly reaching but you saved me a couple more loafs of frustration. Dropped hydration and have a far more workable dough now, high hopes for a non cow pat tomorrow.