The 10 minute rest that fixed my 4 hour focaccia disaster

Last Saturday I was trying to make rosemary focaccia for my sister's birthday at my tiny apartment in Portland, and the dough came out like a flat cracker twice in a row. I was rushing it, mixing for 8 minutes straight and baking right after the second rise, and the crumb was dense and gummy both times. My neighbor Deb, who ran a bakery in Eugene for 15 years, came over and poked the dough and said it was fighting me. She told me to mix it only until it came together, then just let it sit covered at room temp for 10 minutes before folding. I tried it, folded every 10 minutes for 40 minutes total, and the dough went from stiff to pillowy and shiny. The bake came out with big open holes and a crisp olive oil crust, and my sister ate half the pan before dinner even started. Turns out time does most of the gluten work for you if you stop touching it. Has anyone else switched from long kneading to stretch and folds, and did it change how you handle wet doughs?