Hi, I too have just made the same cheese using the same recipe. Maybe this will help.. Dont give up this is a difficult cheese to get right.
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13675.0.htmlThere might be few issues here
after I mill the curd, starting at pH of about 6.5
. I think, unless I miss read the the intent but I kept my curd ball overnight until I reached the required pH
"Tighten the knot again in 1 hour and then let sit for another hour and let the bundle sit in the whey. The pH after this stage is 6.2 – 6.4" so at this stage the pH is still raising but still in the whey.
after this period - my second set of photos I too had a pH too high
"Well, the pH only got to around 5.3 by 9:00pm last night so I made the decision to leave it overnight in the pot. In the morning the pH was approx. 4.7"
I emptied the residual whey before going to bed, retied the knot and then turned turned it upside down and rested it on the knot - this sort of squeezed the bundle a more.. By the morning I reached the required pH.
Interesting note on the texture of the curd ball, in the morning, it had a firmish outer covering but the middle was sort of mushy - it had body and when I milled it there was still whey that was coming out.
Once I milled the curd, added the salt and placed it it the mold you could still see whey being forced out - slowly.
So, from reading your entry I think you milled it too early and should have left it in the bundle until the pH was reached.
My last set of photos are how it came out after 4 days of flipping.
I hope that helps
-- Mal