Preheat and Prepare: First, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line it with baking parchment, leaving a little overhang on the long sides to act as handles for easy removal later.

Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Whisking helps to aerate the flour and distribute the raising agent evenly. Set this aside.

Combine Wet Ingredients: In a separate, larger bowl, whisk the vegetable oil and caster sugar together until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition until the mixture is pale and smooth. Then, stir in the vanilla extract and the sour cream.

Add the Bananas: Add the mashed bananas to the wet ingredient mixture and stir until just combined. I find that mashing the bananas with a fork until they are almost liquid, but with a few small lumps remaining, gives the bread the best texture.

Combine Wet and Dry: Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, gently fold everything together until there are no visible streaks of flour. Be careful not to over-mix; a few lumps are perfectly fine. Over-mixing can lead to a tough, dense loaf.

Bake the Bread: Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake for 60-70 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre of the loaf. It should come out clean. If it’s still wet, bake for another 5-10 minutes and check again.

Cool Completely: Once baked, let the banana bread cool in the tin for 15 minutes before using the parchment paper handles to lift it out onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing. This is the hardest part, but it allows the crumb to set properly!