I’m inclined to try refrigerating my dough after mixing in the starter to prevent acids from the yeast interfering with the autolysis. But cold usually slows chemical processes too, so this may be counterproductive.
I’m trying to max out the autolysis of the dough, so I don’t need to knead much. Anything more than 3 minutes of kneading feels like too much work.
Adam Ragusea talks about autolysis in this video – he seems to be of the opinion that acid from fermentation is not a factor: https://youtu.be/orpTeX_EGXA?si=n0OxksbbUynUFhJO&t=770
Pictured: My most recent loaf of sourdough. I like the crust, but I did not get enough oven spring.
If you go for a slow fermentation, I have experienced that almost no kneeding is necessary. But then we are talking of several proofings and total time of at least 24 hours. But instead of taking my unscientific opinion, I raise you The science of Bread. Have fun watching, it’s amazing