My first attempt at bread making was a semi-failure. Or, to look at it another way, it was a semi-success! Hooray!
My problem: I picked a book (100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood) based on the pictures. Scoff all you want, but honestly I'm a sucker for a pretty loaf of bread. And this book was full of them. Beyond that it cost nearly the exact amount I had left on my Barnes & Noble gift card.
I picked the most basic recipe in the book (white bread) and followed what little instructions there were to the best of my ability. When I went to knead the dough- it was tough. Still, what came out made my apartment smell delicious! And it looked pretty to boot:
The crust was lovely, but the inside was a bit dense. Googling leads me to believe there wasn't enough water, but after talking with a woman at work who's taking pastry classes at the French Culinary Institute (awesome, right?), it could've just been atmospheric issues or too much kneading.
Ah well. It improved with toasting and was great for sandwiches. So all isn't lost. I may come back to this recipe eventually, but I think I'll look for a basic loaf from a book more suited for beginners.
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