Starter:   Combine water, yeast and flour in mixing bowl; mix well to form a soft dough.  Cover and let rest at room temperature for around 14 hours.

Dough:  Combine starter, water, salt, flour and yeast in bowl of bread machine.  Program machine for dough cycle, and press start.

Once the kneading has completed, remove dough from bread machine, and place it in a lightly greased 8-cup measuring cup or medium-size bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and then again after 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into whatever portions you want.  This recipe makes 32-ounces of dough.  I often make small 6-ounce to 7-ounce baguettes.

Working with one piece at at time, flatten the baguette dough into a rough rectangle.  Fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten it slightly, and fold and seal again. With the seam-side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a log. Place the logs seam-side down onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan or perforated French bread pans.  Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise until they have become very puffy, about 1½ hours.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 425°F.  Using a very sharp knife or single edge razor blade held at about a 45° angle, make two or three long vertical slashes in each baguette. Spritz the baguettes heavily with warm water; this will help them develop a crackly-crisp crust. Bake the baguettes until they're a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2-inches, and allow the baguettes to cool in the oven.