Preheat oven to 350° and grease the bottoms of 4 large bread pans.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add in eggs, bananas, milk, and vanilla.
Add in flour, soda, and salt. Stir to moisten the ingredients, being careful not to overmix the batter. Lastly, fold in nuts (if using).
Pour batter into the bread pans and bake 50-60 minutes, until nicely browned on top and pulling away from the sides of the pans.
Remove bread from pans to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.