Ok, this is going to be a long post, so patience, please. 1. **Ratios** Your dough has a pretty mainstream ingredient list, meaning average hydration and a rather high yeast content. Whith the whole wheat you *could* go a notch wetter, but that is a question for another day. 2. **Timing** I'm actually surprised that your dough is even willing and able to rise after a six hour first raise. My gut feeling, reading your ratios and with regard to the fact that you put the bowl in warm water, would be one hour *maximum* for the first rise. Whether such a fast rise is desirable is again another question. The general rule with yeast is to use visual clues, not a timer. Unless your recipe states otherwise, go for **first raise = double volume**. As I am currently baking, let me share a few photos: [![Before proofing 1][1]](https://i.sstatic.net/s9MI8.jpg) [![Double volume 1][2]](https://i.sstatic.net/BVHHi.jpg) (Please ignore the bad quality, I had originally snapped the first photo only as visual reminder for me...) This is also true for the second rise: [![Loaves before][3]](https://i.sstatic.net/u3TD5.jpg) [![Loaves after][4]](https://i.sstatic.net/NPF2D.jpg) *Ideally* you want to bake your bread when it's slightly underproofed to maximize oven spring. Oven spring is not only a funny show to watch, but it means a light and fluffy loaf. If you *greatly exceed* raising times, two things will happen: First, your yeast will be "spent", loosing the ability to "lift" your dough, second, the gluten structure that you created while kneading, can weaken, causing the dough to fall flat. 3. **Tension** When shaping your loaf, you want to keep the gas bubbles mainly intact. This does not mean that you can't touch the dough, just that you shouldn't knead in the sense of "mixing thoroughly" (there are exceptions). What you *do* want, though, is a taut surface of your loaf: Just like with a balloon, this will help your loaf to expand in all directions instead of flowing outwards. You are not *destroing* gluten here, but actually *using* it. There are many techniques, most are either based on a round "ball" which can then be pushed into a longish loaf, if desired, or start with a "roulade" of dough. The latter is typically used for baguette. For a boule (round loaf): [![boule 1][5]](https://i.sstatic.net/WLHZZ.jpg) [![Boule 2][6]](https://i.sstatic.net/IHREg.jpg) First fold the dough towards the middle or slightly off-center (above: after three folds) until the surface (= the *underside*) of the loaf is taut. Then turn it over and rotate the loaf a few times on a non-floured surface, pressing the edges "down and under" with the edge of your hand. For a baguette: [![Baguette 1][7]](https://i.sstatic.net/nEdDe.jpg) [![Baguette 2][8]](https://i.sstatic.net/5uQoX.jpg) [![Baguette 3][9]](https://i.sstatic.net/9OjC8.jpg) [![Baguette 4][10]](https://i.sstatic.net/MHd95.jpg) First *gently* flatten the dough in a somewhat rectangular shape. Pull the far end up and push hard with all ten fingers down to seal. Repeat until all dough is rolled up. Hold your thumb parallel to the long axis and pull the dough over your thumb towards you. Work your way along the loaf, creating mainly crosswise tension. Roll gently to smooth put and shape the edges. Normally I use this only for real baguette, which is way thinner than the loaf here, but for the sake of a better explanation, I used the "baguette technique". 4. **Tools** Note that I am using two different bannetons here - basically because I *have* them and because I can maneuver the loaves easily. If you look at the photos of the second proofing, you will notice that the loaves are quite "stable" per se. For (softer) baguette, a couche or, in a pinch, a floured linnen towel helps keeping them in shape. Place the baguettes between raised folds like I did with these breakfast buns: [![enter image description here][11]](https://i.sstatic.net/OGSZo.jpg) [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/s9MI8s.jpg [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/BVHHis.jpg [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/u3TD5s.jpg [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/NPF2Ds.jpg [5]: https://i.sstatic.net/WLHZZs.jpg [6]: https://i.sstatic.net/IHREgs.jpg [7]: https://i.sstatic.net/nEdDes.jpg [8]: https://i.sstatic.net/5uQoXs.jpg [9]: https://i.sstatic.net/9OjC8s.jpg [10]: https://i.sstatic.net/MHd95s.jpg [11]: https://i.sstatic.net/OGSZos.jpg