I've seen reference to this here, don't remember what you call it, but I just did it. I think my NYT bread sat too long in the first rise. The dough in the middle of the bowl was rather wet, though the top was still a bit stiff. At any rate, the dough didn't seem too bad, but tore as I was rounding it. These tears were more like rough patches on the upper surface at first. But I kept rounding, and next saw gaping tears on the dough surface. Then I stopped! Next time I'll stop sooner.
Any thoughts on what causes this? Am I likely to get a lumpy looking bread when it's cooked?