I've never made bread in my entire life, and am not a regular baker. So when I tell you that I was able to follow all the steps -- and watch all of the hyperlinked videos -- and wound up making 3 delicious baguettes, it feels almost like a miracle. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and well-formed. I'm shocked, honestly.

The one step I wasn't sure of was whether to dissolve the active dry yeast BEFORE adding the 1/16 to the starter. The package says to do this, but the recipe does not. Given how thorough everything else on this site is, I didn't. (And then I anxiously worried about it and was relieved, after reading another KA article where it was explained as an unnecessary step re: pizza crust, to know I hadn't made a wasted starter.) I'm not sure if dissolving for the starter would created a different result? Either way, a short notation on that for your truly newbie bakers would be a great addition to this recipe.

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