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1
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325u00b0F (160 C).
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2
Butter 6 (6 by 3 1/4 by 2 inch) metal loaf pans. (2 to 2 1/4 cup capacity)
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3
Put cranberries, candied fruit, and Port together in a small saucepan and heat until it simmers. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
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4
Coarsely chop walnuts using a food processor then add the flour, salt, baking soda and spices and pulse just enough to combine.
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5
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, and then add the eggs 1 at a time, beating each in well.
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6
Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If your mixture doesn't foam, discard it and start over with new yeast.
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7
Starting with one and a half cups of flour mixture added to butter mixture and mixing with an electric beater at low speed . add each of the following and combine after each addition : molasses, then another one and a half cups of flour mixture, then the yeast mixture, the final one and a half cups of flour mixture. Then hand stir in the candied fruit mixture.
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8
Divide batter among pans, smooth the tops. You don't need to let the batter rise.
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9
Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in centers of loaves comes out clean.
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10
Cool in the loaf pans on a rack for about 10 minutes, then remove loaves from pans and cool completely on rack.
