bad crust

I made a couple baguettes, due to time, I had to retard them in the refrig overnight after shaping.  When I baked them they did not brown as they should, but looked weird.  No blisters, but maybe like they were going to, as soon as the browning started so did the bad appearance.  What went wrong?  I had a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven.  Could they have been too wet from the fridge? suggestions?