My freezer is a repository for recent bakes. There are a few scones in there from a brunch I threw in December, a batch of homemade puff pastry my partner made, and at least a few random pancakes from a recent Sunday when I just couldn't eat another bite. As a household of two, my partner and Ioftencan't polish off the entire batch of whatever we've baked. So we give the extras away, either to friends — or to our friend the freezer. Sometimes, though, it's nice to bake something that's not too big. Something that's sizedjust right. Something that I won't forget about and then discover six months later at the bottom of the freezer, buried under pints of broth (and, fine, ice cream). Something like theseSmall-Batch Cinnamon Rolls. The recipe yields two soft, aromatic rolls (choose from fieryVietnameseor softerIndonesian cinnamon), one for each of us. We will have no trouble eating them, probably before they fully cool, and there'll be no worries about freezing (or eating) the leftovers — there won't be any leftovers. There will also be no leftovers of King Arthur's new recipe forCute and Small Chocolate Cake. Baked in adorable6-inch cake pans, the cake is a breeze to assemble and frost. And after serving it to four people (or two people who really love chocolate cake), the only thing left will be someChocolate Ermine Frosting. (Set the bowl out so people can add more frosting to their cake, like bread on toast. Or keep in the fridge for a few days and eat it with a spoon.) If chocolate's not your thing, consider ourSmall-Batch Cheesy Focaccia, a crispy, bubbly flatbread that's baked in aloaf pan. It's not pizza, but if you add a layer of pizza sauce it can be. However you prep it, it 's the perfect size for splitting in half and serving for dinner alongside a big bowl of soup or a huge salad. Make it enough times and eventually you'll start to notice some room in your freezer. When that happens, you know you've done small-batch baking right — and that it's time to do somebig-batch bakingto fill it back up. |
