If the dough is extremely hydrated, as in sticky wet, I would oil that parchment first to prevent a sticky mess / disturbing the lovely exterior structure of that soon-to-be-baked loaf - then cover with a towel. The towel will help maintain the temperature of the dough, which I've found quite helpful in getting that final rise right before baking. ;o)
I just checked several King Arthur recipes and they all cover the bread during the rise, and in general I do too, so I think yes, I’d cover it with a lightly oiled or sprayed sheet of plastic wrap
Thank you. My bread making instincts say yes, to covering it, but the recipe doesn't specify what to do after shaping, it just says put the shaped loaf on a well-floured towel and allow to sit for an hour. A little vague. I want to put it on a piece of parchment instead of the towel. The recipe makes a very hydrated dough so that's why I was questioning to cover or not.
Yes, your instincts are right - about putting it on parchment. The well-floured towel procedure has never worked particularly well for me - it's invariably a bit sticky, and then there is all that flour in the weave of the towel that you then have to deal with. No, thanks. I use compostable parchment, which I typically re-use several times, so yes, by all means, use lightly floured parchment here.
Thank you. I ended up putting the shaped loaf on a piece of lightly oiled parchment, then set that in a round pyrex dish (to try and hold it's shape) and covered it with the domed glass lid for 1 hour. Then lifted it carefully and placed it in the preheated Dutch oven. It rose nicely and turned out great! Love this bread for toast!
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