Apple Cider Quick Bread

Every so often, I'll stumble upon a recipe that is so easy it seems like you are cheating somehow.  The original version of this recipe was one of them.  It came from a cookbook of pre-made mix recipes and I used to make up batches of the mix to give away at Christmas.  I've modified it to make it gluten free and slightly lower in fat, but it is still just as good!  5 minutes to mix, an hour in the oven, and only 4 ingredients - how can you go wrong?

Apple Cider Quick Bread

 (makes 1 loaf)

3 C self-rising gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix)
3 T sugar
12 oz bottle apple hard cider (mine was homemade, I think any of them should work)
4 T butter melted (this is about half what the original called for!)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together until all the flour is wet and there are no big lumps (a few smaller ones should be okay).  Put batter in a standard-sized loaf pan and pour 1/3 of the melted butter over the top of the loaf.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, pour another 1/3 of the butter over the top, bake 10 more minutes, pour on the remaining 1/3 butter, then bake for 10 more minutes.  Let it rest as long as you can stand it (I usually make it 10 minutes, maybe 15 - it makes the house smell heavenly!), then remove from the pan and slice carefully.  Once the bread has cooled, it slices like a champ, but you do have to be careful with it when it is still fresh from the oven.  This one keeps remarkably well for a gluten-free bread, even when not refrigerated.  We had some of the leftovers grilled in a wee bit of butter on the griddle a few days later, topped with sliced turkey and shredded cheddar, like an open faced sandwich.  Yum!