Few scents compare to the comforting aroma of fresh baked bread and pastries, hot out of the oven. In the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex, there are plenty of places to bask in the smell, and the bounty, of fresh baked goods. Hundreds of bakeries span the city, from traditional French patisseries and cupcake boutiques to sourdough specialty shops. There’s a bakery for every whim.
Whether it’s a perfect croissant and coffee moment you seek, or on the hunt for a bagel from a nationally-renowned bagel artisan, consider this guide of the best bakeries in Dallas.
Sugar Ray’s Bakeshop
Owned by Rachel Barbaro Arrieta, who once appeared on the Netflix baking show Sugar Rush, Sugar Ray’s Bakeshop is locally famous for its fresh crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside macarons, and a robust cupcake menu. The Plano-based shop also sells cookies, cakes, and brownies that have reeled in dessert-lovers since 2013. Sign up for one of Sugar Ray’s macaron-baking classes, and you can attempt to recreate the magic at home. 4021 Preston Rd. #624, Plano, sugarraysbakeshop.com/
Lubella’s Patisserie
If you have croissants on the brain, grab a table at this cozy patisserie, and choose from plain, chocolate, or almond varieties. Elevate the moment with a cup of lavender coffee, or make it a meal by trying the chicken pesto or Caprese croissant sandwich. Even if you’re craving nothing at all, one whiff from the street outside Lubella’s will swiftly draw you in. The shop offers a full menu of cakes and pastries too, but croissants are the standout. 10323 Ferguson Rd. Dallas, lubellaspatisserie.com
Unrefined
With five locations around the Metroplex, this mother-daughter owned bakery has a loyal following for its bread, muffins, and pies made with organic and non-GMO flours. What really sets it apart is that it caters to customers with allergies and food sensitivities. Whether you’re looking for baked goods free of dye, gluten, egg, nuts, grains, rice, soy, starch, tapioca, or yeast, Unrefined has choices galore. There are also Keto-friendly and vegan menus. Multiple locations, unrefinedbakery.com
Starship Bagel
If you ask bagel-seeking Dallasites, the city was once considered a bagel dead zone, but in recent years, a few impressive, New York City-caliber shops have opened around the Metroplex. None have gotten as much attention, both locally and nationally, as Oren Salomon’s Starship Bagels. Starship is bagel purism. Customers can buy bagels and schmear, a few vegetable toppings, and only one protein: lox. If an ingredient doesn’t highlight the bagel, you won’t find it on the menu. There are three locations, with bakers replenishing the stock at each location every two hours to appease the countless people who frequent daily. Multiple locations, starshipbagel.com
La Casita Bakeshop
Maricsa Trejo opened La Casita Bakeshop in 2019 in the months before the pandemic. Against all odds, the bakery became a raving success, with Trejo earning a semifinalist nomination from the James Beard Foundation for “Oustanding Baker” in 2022. Even if you think you’ve never tried La Casita’s baked goods, you probably have. The bakery is a supplier for more than 175 restaurants and cafés around Dallas. The flagship location in Richardson offers breads and pastries, and also breakfast and lunch items, with the coffee-soaked French toast with whipped cream and brown butter maple syrup a standout among them. 580 W. Arapaho Ste. 154, Richardson, lacasitabakeshop.com
Bread in Texas
The owner of this sourdough micro-bakery, Yurisa Bela Schultz, slings bread every Saturday from the McKinney Farmer’s Market with her young daughter Hana. Beyond sourdough loaves, Schultz showcases fluffy dinner rolls, flaky tarts, and rotating specialty items like olive bread, sweet potato bread, coconut-white chocolate bundt cake, and “focaccia croissants” fragrant with rosemary and cherry tomatoes. 315 S. Chestnut St., McKinney, chestnutsquare.org
Oak Cliff Bread
When the early days of the pandemic left him unemployed, Tyler Rooney started baking bread at home and turned his kitchen into a cottage business. Word spread of his baking prowess, and he and his wife Chayanne officially opened Oak Cliff Bread in 2021. The place is small, artisanal, and committed to old-school, everything-by-hand baking practices. The duo also takes pride in using heritage grains, which are grains grown before the 1900s when plant-breeding became the norm. Everything Oak Cliff Bread slings is moist and fresh, but it’s particularly known for croissants and sourdough. Stock up when you visit – the shop is only open Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 1300 South Polk St., Ste. 230, Dallas, oakcliffbread.com
