Little Batch Company
Little batches, big flavor
STORY BY Bethaney Phillips
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Michael Henry
Since 2018, the Little Batch Company has been baking it up big time in the Little Apple. Family owned and operated, what started as an experiment in a lifelong hobby has become a rising, quite literally, success in MHK.
A 2015 graduate from the French Pastry School in Chicago, Pease has had a knack for baking since she was a little girl. Upon graduation, she continued to perfect her baking skills in Charleston, South Carolina. After years away from home, Pease felt it was time to come back to the place where it all started.
“I have always loved cooking and baking. I always baked with Mom, and Dad always likes to cook on the weekends,” she says. “I was exposed to really great food all the time.:
Pease wanted to find a way to bring that passion to the place she loved—her hometown. Finally back in Manhattan in 2018, Pease began bringing her baked goods to the local farmers market and sold out week after week.
“We didn’t really know how it was going to sell,” Pease says. “There’s good pastries and bakeries already, but we just got so much support and so much great feedback. They kept buying!”
When the opportunity to purchase a dream location finally arose, Pease and her mother, Phyllis Pease, created a business model, renovated the space, and took the business to the next level. Now, Little Batch Co. offers a variety of services at their location on Poyntz Avenue.
They still sell fresh baked goods on Saturdays, but now customers can get a hot plate of breakfast to go. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., customers can stop at their store to purchase baked goods, or get the breakfast of the week to go. Meals range from hearty breakfast burritos to open-faced sandwiches topped with gravy. On sunny days, the team even puts tables outside for al fresco dining.
Just like at the farmers market, Pease says, they continue to sell out. Breakfasts and baked options are often slim or hard to come by when the afternoon rolls around.
Culinary couple Kyle Murphy and Rebecca Pensyl help round out the team, with Pensyl serving as pastry chef and cake decorator (she made her own wedding cakes—yes, plural cakes), and Murphy focusing on savory foods as the shop’s executive chef. Pease adds that all recipes are custom and created in-house.
Wednesday through Friday, customers can order lunch to go. And when they say items are homemade, they mean everything from bread, to condiments, to the icing on the baked goods; each recipe is created with careful thought, she says.
“He [Murphy] works really hard on those menus to make sure it’s high quality and really good,” Pease says.
Pease continues to live by her bakery’s motto, “Little batches make better cookies,” experimenting with recipes and creating a limited number of items, not as a ploy, but because she believes it’s a way to improve the quality.
Usually customers can choose from two sandwiches and a side, as well as desserts that can be added on to their order. Customers can reserve a day in advance online, or order through Eat Street day-of… until Little Batch Company is sold out.
Customers can also choose from sweet treats such as decorated cookies and tiered wedding cakes or everyday goods such as bagels, other bread items and granola. Customers can order these basics online and pick up within two days’ notice.
Future endeavors
LBC has more in its sights for Manhattan. Soon they’ll add a full-service restaurant to their arsenal of good eats. Located next door in the historic Dawsons Conoco Service Station at 1026 Poyntz, the eventual Parkside Station will be a full-service restaurant, complete with a bar and walk-up bakery counter full of Little Batch Co.’s goodies.
“It will be accessible but more upscale than quick dining,” Pease says. ‘We want it to be the bridge between Aggieville and downtown.”
Playing of the restaurant’s physical location, Pease says they want people to frequent Downtown and Aggieville alike to feel comfortable to come in and dine.
Pease notes their menu will include items like sandwiches and salads for lunches, with dinners consisting of plated dishes and shared plates.
“We want to keep our price points low while still offering a high-quality meal,” she says.
In addition to offering great food, Pease says they are excited to help preserve the history of the area. LBC’s building has received a preservation award, while the former gas station was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“We’re very excited about that,” Pease says. “We always planned to keep the aesthetic the same. We aren’t going to change the outside.”
Community baking classes
LBC has one more trick up its sleeve—community baking classes. Their newly renovated bakery shop has its own classroom where hobbyist bakers and curious citizens alike can attend classes from the team and other professionals. The two-hour stints come with live instructions, taste tests, a booklet and take-home goodies to share.
Classes are held once a month; go to Online Bake Shop on the LBC website for registration and more information. For any questions about Little Batch Co. or about your own baking, email them at info@littlebatchcompanymhk.com or visit their website at littlebatchcompanymhk.com.
Christmas Stollen
An inside look at the Little Batch Co.’s famous Christmas Stollen recipe.
Yield: 4 loaves
Recipe courtesy Little Batch Co., adapted from Martha Stewart Living
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BREAD
- 11 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 packages active dry yeast
- 2 cups milk, warmed
- 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 6 whole eggs, lightly beaten
- 15 ounces golden raisins soaked in 1/2 cup orange juice
- 10 ounces currants soaked in 1/2 cup cognac
- 4 ounces dried apricots, chopped
- 8 ounces candied citron
- 4 ounces candied orange peel
- 10 ounces blanched olives, chopped
- 2 lemons, grated zest
- 14 ounces marzipan, quartered (recipe to follow)
- 1/2 cup melted butter for brushing
- Powdered sugar for dusting
FOR THE MARZIPAN
- 8 ounces powdered sugar
- 7 ounces almond paste
- Water for consistency
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE BREAD
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, mace, nutmeg, and yeast. Stir in warm milk, 1 1/4 cups melted butter and 1/2 cup warm water. Add eggs and stir to combine. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until fairly smooth.
- Add the dried fruits, candied fruits, almonds, and lemon zest to the dough and continue kneading on a floured board for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour.
- Place dough in a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
- Roll each portion of marzipan into a 12-inch log. Punch down dough and cut into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter to coat, place marzipan log in the center of the dough and fold one long side to the center then fold the other long side over the first side, overlapping it by 1 inch.
- Turn loaves over, taper the ends, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover loaves with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven. Brush all over with room temperature butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar to cover. Let cool completely before serving.
FOR THE MARZIPAN
- Combine powdered sugar and almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Combine until a smooth paste forms. You should be able to pick up the dough without it sticking to your hands, but it should be soft enough to form into logs.
