1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C). Lightly grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides to easily lift the loaf out later.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Make sure there are no lumps and the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set this bowl aside.

3. In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add the granulated sugar to the melted butter and whisk until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.

4. Mash your very ripe bananas in a separate bowl with a fork until mostly smooth but with a few small lumps remaining for texture. Fold the mashed bananas into the wet ingredient mixture in the large bowl. Gently stir in the chocolate chips, reserving a few for sprinkling on top if desired.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter; a few streaks of flour are fine. Overmixing can lead to a tough loaf.

6. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, spreading it evenly. If you reserved any chocolate chips, sprinkle them over the top of the batter.

7. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. The top should be golden brown and the edges slightly pulled away from the pan.

8. Let the banana bread cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes before carefully lifting it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slicing too early can cause the loaf to crumble.