Today I tried to remove the weights (books) from the mycelium and pull the plastic away from the sides so the white coating can start to grow. I had some metal toilet paper holders, so I clipped the plastic bag to the holders to pull it away from the mycelium. There will probably still be some places where the plastic touches, but it should allow much more of the coating to develop than my last attempt. In the process, I accidentally pulled one of the layers off of the base, so I added the books back. Hopefully it will stitch together again (and be stronger than it was before).