Is this a thing? I just do my bulk fermentation / stretch and folds in the mixing bowl. Should I be transferring it to a different bowl?
Also, apologies for the silly question, but I use the plastic lid that came with my Pyrex mixing bowl set instead of the cling on wrap that everyone else seems to be using. Is this a potential issue?
I mix and bulk in the same container, DD. What you cover it with doesn't matter, as long as you cover it (I cover mine with a lid, a kitchen towel, a plate, whatever. :)
I'm lazy, and don't like cleaning more things than I have to, so I just never saw the need to transfer to a clean bowl for bulk fermentation. You may get different opinions, but that's mine......and, in all of my bread baking, I can certify that the dough doesn't care! :)
Rich
The only requirement with the fermentation vessel is that it not be made of copper (or silver, but who uses a silver-plate mixing bowl?) which are toxic to yeast.
You can do your bulk ferment in your mixing bowl (stainless, plastic, glass, or ceramic) or in a plastic tub. Any kind of lid will do as long as your container is big enough to contain the risen dough (you don't want it touching and sticking to the lid.) I use a cheap plastic lidded bowl from the drugstore that's sold with the intention of taking salads to potluck dinners, or a ceramic or stainless steel mixing bowl with a pot lid on it, or a large lidded plastic food storage tub. I find that plastic cleans up easier than other materials: dough doesn't glue onto it quite as much.