I think I made one major mistake.. I did the first rise (see what happens), then did the second rise in a glass bowl (see if it comes back). I tried to be as gentile as possible getting it onto a sheet, but it still lost lots of air (knowing that a 3rd rise was not really in the cards).
So, my next phase is to get my starter going.. get a nice first rise.. punch down and then form the bread on a sheet (what I did not do).. wait for the second rise.. and then bake away..
but open for any advise/tips..
Cheers,
Mikey