I've had a lot of messages asking me about how to do the set of folds to the dough after autolyse, and even though I tried to describe it as best I can, sometimes a visual might be the best way to answer that question.
I got the hubby to shoot a short video of me doing a set of folds - in this video, the dough has already finished autolyse, so you'll notice that it's a lot stronger than the shaggy mess you started with after you incorporated everything by hand. One thing to note, and this is important, is that the video shows my 3rd set of folds - so the dough has already undergone the 40 minute autolyse, and two other sets of folds spaced 30 minutes apart, so this dough is literally 2 hours after you start making your batch. Your first set of folds on your newly autolysed dough will not have the strength and stretch you'll see in the video, it will stretch but may break, so don't go by the way my dough looks from the video as your starting point - it's only to show you how the set of folds is done!
Excuse the mess in the background - my husband has annexed our spare bedroom as his office, and I got the kitchen counter. I literally eat, work, and sometimes sleep in the kitchen now!
Note also that my hands are slightly wet - what I do is I'll run my clean hands under the tap, and then shake off the excess. You want your hands damp, but not soaking wet, or you'll change the hydration of your dough! The damp hands will prevent the dough from sticking.
As always - any questions, let me know, and happy baking!