For some reason this recipe and I just aren't getting along. I've baked bread a few times before so I'm not a complete beginner, but I'm definitely no expert. The first time I made this I realized I was using active dry rather than instant yeast, but read elsewhere on your site that it could be substituted 1:1 with no modifications. I used the lower amount of water (I've noticed that the recipe and the blog call for different amounts of water) because even though it's technically winter, I am in Texas, so erred on the side of the warmer climate amount. I could tell right away that it wasn't quite right-- the dough was nice and smooth, but also felt too dense and dry. The resulting bread tasted fine, but had the density of a brick. The next week I tried again. I decided to activate the yeast prior to adding all the other ingredients, and this time I used the larger amount of water. I'd also done some research and found some suggestions to increase the yeast by 25% when using active dry in place of instant yeast, so I did that as well (yes, I know I was probably playing with too many variables at once!). This time the dough rose super fast, probably too fast! The bread again tasted fine, but with a crumbly crust and just wasn't quite right. Today I'm trying again, this time with instant yeast, and 1 1/3 c water. I added a bit of extra flour when the dough didn't seem to want to come together, and did just a few turns of hand-kneading after kneading in my mixer. After the first rise, when I shaped the dough, I noticed it's not really smooth the way it should be-- it's a bit rough, sort of pock-marked, even after trying to knead it a bit more (against my better judgment just to leave bad enough alone). It's on the second rise now and I'm afraid I'm in for another disappointment. I think it's time I step away from this recipe. I so wanted that beautiful loaf in the picture, but I'm just not getting it. :(

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