Bread Makers with Raisin and Nut Dispensers

Breville's BBM800XL featuring a raisin/nut dispenser, available through Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Getting an automatic bread maker is a great way to ensure you and your family of constant supply or fresh, homemade bread, while minimizing the time you spend in the kitchen. Some of the latest bread machine models – including Breville's BBM800XL, Morphy Richards' 48324, and Panasonic's SD-RD250 and SD-2501WXC models – even boast automatic nut and raisin dispensers, which drop extra ingredients like nuts, small or chopped dried fruit, and seeds into the dough exactly at the right time during the mixing or kneading process. All you have to do is add the ingredients into the dispenser, switch on the machine, and your little workhorse will take care of the rest. Perfect for the busy home!

Automatic Dispensers vs the Manual Solution

Electric bread makers with automatic dispensers have been designed to release add-ins like nuts and raisin at the optimal time to avoid them from being crushed during the kneading process, while ensuring they will be evenly distributed throughout the dough. Of course, if you don't mind the add-ins getting a little crushed, you can also go for a cheaper bread maker without a raisin and nut dispenser and add the extra ingredients into the baking pan manually at the beginning of the process. There are also a couple of inexpensive models that give out an audible signal to let you know when you can add the nuts, certain seeds and dried fruit into the pan (check out Breadman's TR520 built to North American electrical standards, or Morphy Richards' 48330 if you need a UK model). Of course, this means that you will have to be at home (and awake) so that you can manually add the extra ingredients when you hear the beep.

Finding the Best Bread Maker with a Nut/Raisin Dispenser

Finding the best bread machine with a nut/raisin dispenser for you and your family can be a daunting task as modern automatic bread makers come packed with all sorts of additional features and functions. To help you find for the best deal / model for you, HealWithFood.org has put together a handy side-by-side comparison chart which provides an overview the key features and functions of popular bread machines equipped with dried fruit and nut dispensers (see below). The North American models covered in this review include Breville's BBM800XL Custom Loaf breadmaker and Panasonic's SD-RD250 model. For those living in the UK we've included two models: Morphy Richards' 48324 and Panasonic's SD-2501WXC. In addition to having an automatic raisin/nut dispenser, all of these models are feature a digital display screen, delay start timer (which allows you to delay the baking process by several hours – great if you want to have freshly baked bread when you wake up in the morning), fast bake setting (great if you need a loaf in a hurry), and keep warm function (which keeps the bread warm after the baking process to reduce condensation of steam within the loaf).

1. Models built to North American electrical standards

	Breville BBM800XL	Panasonic SD-RD250
Raisin and nut dispenser*	Yes	Yes
Gluten-free cycle	Yes	No
100% whole wheat cycle	Yes	No
Jam/compote cycle	Yes	No
Customisable cycle	Yes	No
Other cycles	See manual	See manual
Fast bake option*	Yes	Yes
Crust settings	Light Medium Dark	Light Dark
Loaf sizes*	1.0 lb 1.5 lb 2.0 lb 2.5 lb	M XL
Digital display	Yes	Yes
Standard vs collapsible "no hole" paddle	Collapsible	Standard
Delay timer*	Up to 13 hours	Up to 13 hours
Keep warm function	Yes	Yes
Viewing window	Yes	No
Amazon price	Click here Click here	Click here Click here

* This setting may not be available on certain cycles. For details, see the user manuals (links to the user manuals are provided in the above chart).

2. Models built to meet British electrical standards

* This setting may not be available on certain cycles. For details, see the user manuals (links to the user manuals are provided in the above chart).