The team behind the popular bread served at Meridian recently opened their own bakeshop just across the street from the restaurant inside Roundhouse Food Hall at The Village. At Meridian these baked goods play a supporting role, at Doughregarde’s Bake Shop they’re the stars. As they should be.

Head baker and executive pastry chef David Madrid along with baker Sarah Green-Smith have shepherded the team through months-long recipe collaborations, development, testing and tastings, baking dozens of batches each week.

“It takes three days to work on the croissant dough,” Madrid says with a laugh, “not that most people would care to know.”
Time, while not on always their side is the not-so-secret weapon in their arsenal. A house-made sourdough starter is used across different breads and pastries, complementing other fermentation techniques to help develop more flavor over time.

The pastries here take inspiration from all the different flavors of The Village’s restaurants: Meridian for Modern Brazilian, Anise for Mediterranean, La Mina for Mexican and Over Under for all Texas Americana. Madrid and team take advantage of unfettered access to the same seasonal produce and products from local purveyors.

In the display case inside the pastry shop are the classics: traditional butter croissants, chocolate croissants, cookies, scones and kolaches. They also have some of their own takes on these everyday favorites.

Among them is a kolache made with Luscher’s Red Hots, sharp cheddar cheese and chili flakes with a perfect ratio of sausage to bread.

A raisin pecan sticky bun is made with a nest of flaky, buttery croissant dough studded with raisins, as opposed to the familiar pillowy sweet dough. A stick-to-your-ribs caramel sauce flows over the edges, soaking into the bun with pieces of crispy pecans in the center. While not big in size, it’s a heavyweight in terms of indulgence.
Doughregarde has big-as-your-face brown butter chocolate chip cookies sprinkled with sea salt called the Dallas BIG. Or try the cinnamon-dusted snickerdoodle with crispy edges and a slightly chewy middle. These are best paired with a cup of black drip coffee, the only option until the well-oiled and manned coffee machinery is ready to go.

The cardamom bun with lemon zest is a deviation from the traditional Swedish bread bun base. Here it uses a flaky croissant dough that is formed into a delicate rose with a whiff of floral cardamom sugar and lemon. It's a true jewel of the spice route, worthy to be presented inside a velvet box, down on bended knee.

The space is already gaining attention, especially for their oft sold-out breakfast sandwiches. The lunch sandwiches are picking up a following too; people patiently wait for them to turn up at 11 a.m. each day. A fresh crunchy baguette holds a generous amount of thinly sliced fatty and funky house-made capicola with an equally lavish slather of French butter that is freckled with sour, crunchy cornichons.

Doughregarde’s Bake Shop, 5605 Village Glen Drive (The Village). Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily