I'm curious if anyone has any input on this.  I have been trying for over a year now to perfect the classic French baguette.  My results always taste great, but the appearance is not consistent at all.  I've used all of the following formulas:

• Hamelman's Baguette with Poolish (66% hydration)
• Hamelman's Un-Kneaded Six-Fold Baguette (73% hydration)
• Hamelman's Straight Dough Baguette (70% hydration)
• Suas' Baguette with Poolish (68% hydration)
• Suas' Straight Dough Baguette (70% hydration)

Of these formulas, I've had the best and most consistent results with Hamelman's Six-Fold Baguette and Suas' Straight Dough Baguette.  I had great results 2 out of my last three tries. Here is the 1st (using Suas' Straight Dough):

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Here is the 2nd (using Suas' straight dough with hydration reduced to 65%. I think this is my best yet):

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With the 3rd batch, I tried to use Hamelman's Baguette with Poolish but got very different results.  I would like to use a poolish for the extra flavor and reduced bulk fermentation time, but I can't seem to get the great results with his formula.  Does anyone have any suggestions or any ideas as to why these results were so different.  In terms of technique, I tried to follo the exact same as for the two straight doughs.  The hydration is not much different than the 2nd attempt above (66% instead of 65%).  Here are some photos:

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I really appreciate any input.  Thanks in advance!

Kyle