The 10 Best Bakeries in Dallas for a Sweet Treat

When we want a lap full of pastry crumbs, we don’t go just anywhere. There are many spots in Dallas that like to play bakery but don’t make their own dough. Rather, they get their baked goods from the same wholesaler as everyone else. 

Instead, round up your $6 and put ’em where the dough is warm and the ingredients are minimal. 

The following are 10 great bakeries in Dallas that are locally owned and operated, scratch-made and worthy of the cult following they’ve amassed.

La Casita Bakeshop
580 W. Arapaho Road & 5801 E. Northwest Highway
La Casita is the cornerstone of Dallas’ best bakeries. It was a finalist for Outstanding Bakery by the James Beard Foundation in 2024, but it’s been selling out of churro cruffins well before then. It serves a daily roster of pastries and breakfast foods. Additionally, it offers both weekend and monthly specials. Still, things sell out at an alarming rate. Visit the Dallas location along Northwest Highway inside the Half Price Books mothership past 5 p.m. and the bakery becomes a tiki bar, La Tiki Paisa, with some of the best damn fish tacos in the city. They really do have it all. 

Oak Cliff Bread
1300 S. Polk St., Oak Cliff
There’s not a single resident in Oak Cliff who isn’t banging down the door to get into Oak Cliff Bread from Thursday through Saturday. Owner Tyler Rooney started his bakery at the Dallas Farmer’s Market and eventually opened his first brick-and-mortar in 2023. His menu rotates weekly and features a few sourdough specials, focaccia, the most French baguettes you’ve ever seen on this side of the pond, and both savory and sweet pastries. Thursdays and Fridays at 11:30 a.m., he serves a few sandwiches, including a kimchi grilled cheese. It’s legit, and it borders a cult, but in the best way possible.

Kuluntu Bakery
Online, North Oak Cliff Pickup
Stephanie Leichtle-Chalklen started baking as a hobby after college. She eventually quit her 9-to-5 to work at two French patisseries in New York City. In 2023, her home-based bakery, Kuluntu, in North Oak Cliff, was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Bakery. The bakery is a nonprofit with a mission to create a women-focused, more equitable food system. While you can’t simply stop by and grab a pastry, you can place orders for their lovely pastries and loaves of sourdough online every Friday through Monday for pickup on Thursday. Or go all in with a monthly box subscription full of their seasonal favorites.

Leila Bakery and Cafe
6041 Oram St., East Dallas
Kelly Ball started selling her goods at farmers’ markets before opening this brick-and-mortar location in 2019. The focus is on handmade everything using old European techniques. The stand-on-its-own quiche, thanks to an uber-thick flaky crust, is rightously popular. Stop by for a muffin, scone, or kolache, along with a cup of coffee or tea. They offer individual servings of pastries or sell them by the bagful.

La Rue Doughnut
3011 Gulden Lane, West Dallas, Trinity Groves
La Rue Doughnuts is the kind of bakery where just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any better, the new monthly menu drops, and it delivers every time. Dallas has had its fair share of “artisan” doughnuts from other shops, but these are in a league of their own. This month’s menu features a chicken fajita pocket made with blue corn puff pastry, grilled chicken, red onion, bell pepper and Oaxaca cheese. You come in for one item and leave with four. You’ve been warned. 

Lubellas Patisserie
10323 Ferguson Road
Lubellas Patisserie is one of the newest bakeries to open in Dallas, following the pandemic that left Maria Becerra and her husband, Ismael Gonzalez, jobless. She baked, and he delivered the goods all over the city until they were able to open their first brick-and-mortar in the Casa View Shopping Center. Now, they’ve expanded to serve baked goods, as well as a breakfast, lunch and brunch menu. Conchas are a huge hit here, as is the café de olla, almond croissants and danishes.

Empire Baking Co.
3700 McKinney Ave., 5450 W Lovers Lane & 5614 E. University Blvd.
Empire Baking Co. is one of Dallas’ longest-running craft bakeries, from Meaders and Robert Ozarow. When they couldn’t find craft bread in Dallas, they decided to do it themselves and opened Empire in 1992. Everything from their loaves to lunch offerings is made daily, and only enough for each day. “Less is more and simple is hard” is part of their ethos, and because of that, they’ve retained a loyal following that’s allowed them to gently expand to three locations in Dallas.

Kessler Baking Studio
1129 N Beckley Ave.
We’re no strangers to cinnamon roll Saturdays at Kessler Baking Studio in Bishop Arts. Clyde Greenhouse, owner of this micro bakery, was a semifinalist for the 2020 James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker. He makes his sweets daily, from scratch, and is best known for his Texas pecan shortbread cookies, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and strawberry Rice Krispy treats. 

Graciela’s Bakery
112 S. Carroll Ave., Old East Dallas
Is this decades-old spot in East Dallas on this list because we adore the generations of family behind it? Perhaps. We also love the super-creative bread designs and classics, such as pan dulce, ojos de buey (bull’s eye), marranitos (pig-shaped bread), pan de muerto, cinnamon rolls, and, of course, the classic conchas in various colors. The family behind the bakery began baking and selling Mexican sweet breads in the early ’90s; patriarch Jose baked, and mom, Graciela, and daughter, also Graciela, sold door-to-door in East Dallas. In May 1992, they opened their storefront, Graciela’s Bakery, and it has been a staple ever since.

Henk’s European Deli & Black Forest Bakery
5811 Blackwell St.
We named the Swiss Madrisa at Henk’s as Dallas’ most defining cake. If you’ve spent more than a few years here, you’ve definitely seen it at a birthday, anniversary, retirement or anything-else party. It’s a Dutch and German-inspired locale serving breakfast, lunch and a bakery filled with Dallas’ favorite cakes. If you’re not there for cake (how?), they also serve batches of croissants, cookies, muffins and danishes. It’s been a staple in the community in many forms since the 1960s and isn’t going anywhere soon.