Last Updated November 19, 2024 – Originally Posted November 23, 2014
While checking the cycle times in the manual for one of my Zojirushi bread machines, I noticed something I hadn’t paid attention to before. Take a look at the photos below—do you see what stands out?
And here:
What caught my eye was how all the raisins ended up around the edge of the loaf. This is the typical result when dried fruit is added at the machine’s “add” beep during the dough cycle.
To avoid that ring of fruit around the crust, I now add raisins and other dried fruit at the start of the cycle. Specifically, I add them right after I put the flour into the bread pan. Doing so distributes the fruit more evenly throughout the dough rather than letting it collect at the perimeter.
That simple change works very well. The fruit becomes incorporated during mixing and stays dispersed through the loaf instead of migrating to the edges.
Here’s an example of banana raisin bread where the raisins are nicely distributed through the crumb. If your recipe calls for dried fruit, try adding it at the beginning when you assemble the ingredients—especially the flour—and you should get a more even result.