Hi John, at 87% hydration, this does end up being a very wet dough to begin with. If you happened to use another brand of unbleached all-purpose flour, this would make for an even wetter dough. This is because our all-purpose flour is higher in protein than most other brands of AP flour, and higher protein flours not only develop more gluten than lower protein flours, but also absorb more liquid. The vital wheat gluten called for in this recipe also soaks up quite a bit of liquid and contributes to dough strength, so if you didn't have that ingredient available, this might have also contributed to your extremely wet dough. One thing you might want to try is substituting our bread flour for the AP flour called for, especially if you don't have any VWG. This will up the protein content and make for a more manageable dough. You might even want to try the bread flour with the VWG. 

Another factor that can contribute to an extremely wet dough with this recipe is if you use sourdough discard rather than ripe starter. Sourdough discard tends to be much more liquidy in consistency because as the starter ages past ripeness the gluten structure gradually breaks down. For best results I would use ripe starter and reduce the yeast to 1 teaspoon. 

For more help troubleshooting this recipe, please don't hesitate to contact our Baker's Hotline. We're generally here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST, and the number to call is 855-371-BAKE (2253). 

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