1-Step 1: Prepare Your Oven and Pan Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (177°C). Position the oven rack in the lower third position, which helps the bread bake evenly and develop a beautiful golden crust on the bottom. Grease a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan generously with nonstick spray. You can also line the bottom and sides with parchment paper for easy release, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the bread out after baking. This extra step guarantees your loaf comes out cleanly without any sticking.

2-Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Whisking is important here because it aerates the flour and evenly distributes the leavening agent and spices throughout the mixture. This step only takes about 30 seconds but makes a real difference in the final texture. Set this bowl aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.

3-Step 3: Cream the Butter and Brown Sugar In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and packed brown sugar together on medium-high speed. This step takes about 3 minutes, and patience here pays off. You want the mixture to become light in color and creamy in texture. The sugar crystals cut into the butter create tiny air pockets that help the bread rise and give it a tender crumb.

4-Step 4: Add Eggs and Wet Ingredients With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. This gradual incorporation helps the eggs emulsify into the butter-sugar mixture, creating a stable base for your batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined. Next, add the room temperature Greek yogurt (or sour cream), pure vanilla extract, and mashed bananas. Beat on medium speed until everything is thoroughly combined. The batter might look slightly curdled at this stage, which is completely normal. The bananas can be mashed ahead of time with a fork or potato masher, or you can let your mixer do the work on medium speed.

5-Step 5: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix just until the flour is incorporated and no dry streaks remain. This is the most critical step in the entire process: do not overmix. Overmixing develops gluten, which leads to tough, dense bread rather than the tender, moist texture you want. The batter should be thick and somewhat heavy. If you’re adding nuts or chocolate chips, fold them in now using a rubber spatula with gentle strokes. Keep total add-ins to about 1 cup maximum to maintain the proper balance of bread to mix-ins.

6-Step 6: Bake the Bread Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly with your spatula. Give the pan a gentle tap on the counter to release any large air bubbles. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 60 to 65 minutes. About halfway through baking (around the 30-minute mark), loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pan. This prevents the top from browning too much before the center is fully cooked. The bread is done when a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.

7-Step 7: Cool and Serve Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. This resting period allows the structure to set so the bread doesn’t fall apart when you remove it from the pan. After an hour, run a thin knife around the edges to loosen any stuck areas, then carefully invert the bread onto the rack to remove it from the pan. Cool the bread completely on the wire rack before slicing. I know it’s tempting to cut into it right away, but slicing warm bread often results in gummy, compressed slices. Patience here gives you clean, beautiful slices that hold together perfectly.