Install OS X on a MacBook Pro with empty SSD
⌘R only opens a specific preexisting partition on a hard drive that's already had OS X installed, so it makes sense that it wouldn't get you anywhere. You want to hold down Option as you press the Power button and watch the computer boot up. That tells the computer to list all the drives you can possibly boot from, and then you just select your bootable drive using the arrow keys and Return.