Oops, Did I Make the No-Rise Version?

I've been baking bread for a long time. I can tell by about the first hour of rising whether a dough has problems. There is a certain smell to dough that's rising well.

My first experiment with no-knead bread was an utter disaster. This dough had problems. By the time I went to bed last night, I knew the dough was not rising well, and the sticky mess I pulled out of the bowl this morning made the case.

The recipe is not difficult. I either mismeasured (not likely, but possible) or the yeast was not good. There is no proofing step in this recipe for the yeast; however, the expiration date was fine and I bought it at HEB, where there is sufficient turnover at this time of year. I don't think the yeast was bad.

People in Google-land report sticky dough that comes out fine in the end. But this was not sticky dough...I don't think. It was a sticky, unmanageable mess. User error? I'll try again next weekend.