Texture of Cooked Beans

[Guest guest]

When I cook beans from scratch, they come out with a weird consistency between soft and hard, sort of al dente.  If I let them cook too long, they get mushy.Does anyone have good rule of thumb for this?

I usually soak the dried beans overnight, then drain them in the morning and cover again with water.Right before I cook them, usually, 4 hours later, I drain them again and cover with water.  

Then I heat them to boiling and cook at a slow boil from 1-2 hours.Thanks for any suggestions you might have.