Hi Caroline, I'm not totally sure if I'm understanding your question, but as long as your dough is allowed a pause before kneading begins you'll still see some positive effects, even if the yeast starter is included in the modified autolyse. If you've already allowed the yeast to activate prior to adding it to the autolyse, you may want to limit the autolyse period to 15 minutes, since once fermentation begins you're going to be on a more rigid timeline. The already activated yeast may have more of a tightening effect on the gluten during the autolyse, but it's certainly worth an experiment to see whether you see an improvement in dough handling. Barb

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