123 Sourdough

I am fairly new to this site but have been making bread for about 30 years. Man, that makes me sound old. I just tried the 123 sourdough from Flo Makanai. It was fantastic! I wasn't sure about the instructions so I kneaded until it passed the window pane test and then did 3 or 4 stretch and folds at 30 minutes apart before forming loaves. Baked it at 450 for 30 minutes on a stone with water spray a few times in the beginning. It was very delicious. I'm wondering if all that kneading was necessary. I won't complain because the KA did all the work. Everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere so we ate them hot. (shame, shame)

Mary