This is the best banana bread recipe! Quick and easy to make and no mixer is required. It's perfectly moist and amazingly tender, it's buttery and brimming with banana flavor. Simply put, everyone will have a hard time stopping at just one slice!
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 by 5-inch or 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture, set aside.
In a separate medium mixing bowl whisk together melted butter and granulated sugar.
Whisk in eggs, then whisk in bananas, sour cream and vanilla.
Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and fold with a rubber spatula just until combined (you shouldn't see any more streaks of flour). Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out free of batter (a moist crumb or two is fine but top should be set), about 50 - 58 minutes.
Cool in pan 10 - 15 minutes. Run knife around edges to loosen then invert onto a wire rack.
Let cool on wire rack about 30 minutes then transfer to an airtight container to finish cooling. Store at room temperature or refrigerate for longer shelf life.
Notes
*You can adjust the sweetness to suite your taste. I prefer 3/4 cup sugar but if you like it really sweet use 1 cup, if you like it lightly sweetened use 1/2 cup.
Be sure to use very well ripened spotted bananas though, because they offer the best flavor and sweetness.
In a pinch, if you don't have sour cream just add 1/4 cup more mashed banana.
If you only have salted butter on hand, reduce salt in recipe to 1/4 tsp.