Amish Friendship Bread

Recipe Instructions For the Starter: Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water in a deep glass or plastic container. Stir in the remaining warm water, flour and sugar. Beat until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Do not refrigerate. For Assembly: On days one, two, three and four, stir the batter. On day five, add 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar. Stir. On days six, seven, eight and nine, stir the batter each day. On day 10, add the remaining 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar. Stir. The batter is ready to use. This makes 3 cups of batter. If you want, pour 1 cup of batter into two containers to give away, and save 1 cup to begin the process over again. For the Bread: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 (9- by 5-inch) loaf pans. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the Amish Friendship Starter, eggs, oil and vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the nuts and apples. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.