With minor variations this is the recipe I've been making for 40 years. It originally came from a home ec teacher and it is beyond awesome. The differences are, first, that I cream the softened butter with the sugar (not melted). I add 1 tsp. lemon juice with the vanilla, and use 1 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder, and 1-3/4 c. flour. Finally, regardless of how many bananas are used it should equal 1 cup. You will never find a better banana bread, and over the course of 40 years, I've never heard differently. Edited 8/17/09: My original 4/14/08 review should have indicated that I mash the bananas, not slice them.

As other reviewers mentioned, it was very moist and the flavor was good. My only issue was the sight & feel of the bananas in the bread. Slicing them up, instead of mashing or pureeing them, causes them to be quite mushy and purple. I felt like I was biting into a bruise each time I ate a slice. I ended up digging them out before eating in order to salvage the bread. Sorry, but I think I'll stick to mashing or pureeing...but I'll use the rest of this recipe.

This is Martha Stewart's recipe... only Martha's says to use room temp. butter.. and suggests using a mixer for the butter and sugar to make it light and fluffy before adding flour and other ingredients, and a full cup of mashed bananas instead of chopped up like Janet says.. more bananas and mashing them is what many of you said you did to tweak this recipe, and it is better that way. It is a great recipe.

This is quite simply the best banana bread I've ever had. I followed the recipe as stated, with a few additions, to enhance the overall flavor of the bread. I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground cloves to the batter and 1/2- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips in addition to the walnuts. Almost all the reviewers agree that the bananas should be mashed, so I mashed them. This distributed the banana flavor evenly throughout the dough. I also advise against using a mixer for the batter. This would whip too much air into the cake and take away from its dense quality. I baked the bread at 325 and it was perfectly done in an hour and 15 minutes. It cuts easily, thinly and has a great crust. Thank you for a great recipe!

Just want to chime in here and say that this bread is delicious. It came out soft and moist (but not underdone) on the inside with a slightly crunchy exterior. I also left out the nuts with no negative side effects. .................................... The second time I made it (after writing the review), I didn't have any sour cream, and so I substituted strawberry yogurt. Just thought I'd mention that it is quite tasty that way, too. :o)

This is a wonderful recipe! We are under contract for baking and use it frequently. A couple suggestions...when your bananas are ripening on the counter, throw them into the freezer - skin on! The day you plan to bake, pull them out and allow to partially thaw. All you need to do is cut the top off and squeeze the banana "pulp" into your mixing bowl. Sweet and delicious! We also use mini cupcake pans, mini loaf pans, and the new square "muffin" pans with this recipe. Adjust your bake time accordingly - approx 15 for mini cakes, and 20 for mini loaves and squares. Perfect with a cold glass of milk or hot coffee or tea! Freeze well!

This is the best banana bread ever, and i have tried many looking for the best. Two suggestions 1) be sure to let your bananas become fully ripe with lotsa brown on the peel and a little on the fruit 2) i use three bananas for more moist loaf and more robust banana flavor

With a few slight changes, this was the best banana bread I have ever tasted! First of all, do use room temp real butter and cream it with the sugar. Also, make sure your eggs are room temp. Sift the dry ingredients together and add 1tsp. cinnamon and 1/2tsp. nutmeg. Also make sure you use a full cup of MASHED bananas. With these modifications, you will have the best banana bread on the planet :)

Excellent recipe and I'm a novice to cooking. I did substitute the sour cream for lowfat banana yogurt and added a pinch of cinnamon. ADDED: I noticed I have had this recipe in my allrecipe.com recipe box for almost 10 years. Still good after all these years.