If your loaf came out dry, you likely baked the loaf for too long. Baking for 40 minutes works well for my oven, but you may need to adjust the bake time to suit your oven. This is where investing in a simple oven thermometer can be useful. You’ll be able to tell if your oven runs hot or cold and adjust your bake times accordingly. Or, it's possible that you used too much flour. The best way to measure flour is always by weight, and the next best method is the spoon and level method. If you're scooping a measuring cup directly into the flour then it's likely to get packed and you'll be using too much. This results in dry bread.